


The Weight Around Her Neck

by Apathetic_Abstract_Apotheosis



Series: The Wandering One [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anti-Faunus Racism (RWBY), Asexual Character, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Internalized Homophobia, Romance, Sexual Harassment, Slow Burn, Trans Female Character, Weiss Schnee is a Faunus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2019-11-04 13:45:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 61
Words: 177,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17899214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apathetic_Abstract_Apotheosis/pseuds/Apathetic_Abstract_Apotheosis
Summary: Weiss longs to be free. But all she feels is shackled, by family, by duty and most of all by herself. Freedom may be out of reach for now, but with help perhaps broken wings won't hold her down.Set a week after Vol. 1





	1. Chapter 1

“Augh!”

Weiss’ scream of pain echoed around her dorm’s bathroom. No matter how many times she did it, the pain never faded. She’d made sure the rest of the team had gone out before she started. Ruby was in the library studying whilst Blake and Yang had gone into Vale for the day. She’d locked the dorm room as well just to be safe, relying on the surprisingly good sound-proofing of Beacon’s accommodations to prevent anyone else from hearing.

Pausing to catch her breath, Weiss checked the fire dust levels in Myrtenaster, more than half full, plenty to complete the process. She raised her sword, letting the dust infuse the blade until it started to glow red and brought it down hard. She just managed to bite back her screech; she felt the wound sizzle as the red hot blade cauterised the wound, heard the soft thump drowned out by the clatter of Myrtenaster dropping to the floor.

Gasping for breath, Weiss clutched at the basin, looking at her haggard reflection. She looked an absolute mess, letting out a soft, pained chuckle at what her teammates would think if they could see her face right now.

Not paying attention to her dropped sword, Weiss moved over to the shower and started scrubbing at the small amount of blood that had dripped down her back. She sighed softly, feeling the warm water cascade down her; soothing the burns, old and new, that covered her upper back. With the blood cleaned off and suitably refreshed, Weiss clambered out of the tub.

After carefully wrapping her torso in bandages and pulling on her casual wear, making sure the jacket covered the bandages and any still visible scars, Weiss scrutinised herself in the mirror, towelling her hair. Yes, she looked presentable again. Hair soft and shiny, she admired it, flicking it to the side and watching it settle across her face. She frowned at the scar across her eye, her nose that was too big, nose slightly crooked and mouth just a tad too wide. Looking away from the reflection Weiss thought back to all the other times she’d performed this ritual.

She’d been doing this since she could wield a blade, though the process had been happening for as long as she could remember. Yearly at first, but becoming more and more frequent since she’d unlocked her aura to the point where she had to do this every month. Last time had been the day before leaving for Beacon, Klein hadn’t approved but still he stood guard by the doors to her chambers as always.

She couldn’t put it off any longer. Reluctantly, Weiss picked up her severed wings, trying to avoid looking at them as she placed them into a large metal bucket. She picked up a small vial of fire dust from beside the sink and carefully sprinkled it into the bucket, still avoiding looking at its contents as they caught.

Black and white feathers curled and turned to ash as Weiss focused, one of her glyphs materialised beneath the bucket accelerating the flames as she tried not to breathe in the smoky air and ignore the smell of cooking flesh.

Soon enough the contents of the bucket were reduced to ash which Weiss poured into a bag before setting about cleaning up any remaining evidence of her actions. Satisfied with the state of the bathroom, Weiss picked up the ash bag and Myrtenaster and exited the room, stepping back into team RWBY’s dorm.

Placing Myrtenaster beside her bed, Weiss left the room, heading out of the building to find a bin.

“Hey Weiss!” A cheery voice called out from across the courtyard. Weiss froze, turning to face the voice in time to see red blur in front of her before materialising into her partner. “Whatcha doin’ out here?”

“Oh, nothing much, just getting some air.” Weiss tried to inject calm into her voice despite the screaming inside. Of course she’d get caught right at the end and of course it had to be Ruby. Stupid, impossible to lie to, freakishly adorable Ruby.

“Oh, okay then. See you back at the room!” Ruby chirped, flashing that open, honest smile and trotting off in the direction of the dorm building.

Breathing a sigh of relief the moment Ruby was out of earshot, Weiss swiftly made her way over to the nearest bin. Shoving the bag inside, still looking around to make sure no one was looking, Weiss headed off again, this time around the edge of the courtyard. She’d done it and was in the clear, so why not do as she’d told Ruby and take in the air a bit?

Eventually Weiss found an unoccupied bench in a secluded spot of the courtyard, shaded by a willow leaning over, surrounding it with its long thin branches. It was just like any other lazy Saturday, the courtyard was almost deserted, save for a few students sat around enjoying the late afternoon sun. Weiss relaxed back against the bench, only to wince and hiss in pain as the still tender burns twinged. She leaned forward slightly, taking the weight off, as she gazed out through the swaying branches watching as team CFVY strolled across the lawns laughing with each other, Velvet’s ears bobbing as they went.

Weiss hadn’t quite meant it when she’d said that it didn't matter that Blake had been in the White Fang or that she was a Faunus. It mattered a great deal to her that Blake was a Faunus, it just meant more complications, having to be even more careful not to let anyone know her secret. Not to mention how much worse it would be if Blake found out the truth, so much more so after all those horrid, hateful things she’d said about the Faunus. That they were degenerates, that they lie, cheat and steal. Weiss allowed herself a dry chuckle at that, at least one of those was true, she was a liar.

She’d never forgive her if she knew. Hell, none of them would forgive her. Blake would be furious that she’d betrayed her own people, Yang would be angry that Weiss had upset Blake. And Ruby, Weiss couldn’t bear to think of how Ruby would react, how those beautiful silver eyes would fill with tears, then harden with hate. How she’d turn away and leave Weiss alone in a flutter of rose petals.

Weiss shook herself, no, no good would come from dwelling on these things. She just had to keep her secret; that was all she needed. Just another four years, living in close proximity with three other girls, one of whom was a Faunus. Who was she kidding? She’d never be able to keep her secret.

Sighing dejectedly, Weiss got up, brushing off her skirt and made her way back to the dorm. Even if the venture was doomed from the beginning, she still had to try, for the company, for her family and for herself.

 

* * *

 

 

Blake and Yang didn’t get back from Vale until that evening, Weiss had spent the remaining time revising for Oobleck’s next test whilst Ruby sat up on her bed playing some game on her scroll.

“I call dibs on the bathroom!” Yang called over to the partners, grabbing her shower things as Blake snagged a book, dropped onto her bed and promptly buried herself in the novel.

“Try not to use up all the hot water again, Yang.” Ruby called back, not looking up from her scroll, tongue stuck out in concentration.

“I make no promises sis.” Yang slammed the door shut, not noticing Weiss and Blake wince at the noise. Weiss sighed, she’d done about as much preparation for the test as she could. Stretching as she stood up from her desk, Weiss made her way over to her own bunk. Sitting down and leaning back against the headboard only to once again wince and jerk forward with an accompanying hiss.

“Are you alright Weiss?” Blake was looking over the top of her book at Weiss, blinking owlishly.

Weiss fumbled for an answer “Ah, yes. I’m fine, thank you Blake. Just pulled a muscle earlier.”

“Oh, if your muscles are sore and stuff I can help.” Ruby piped up from above, poking her head out over the side of her bed. “I can do massages and stuff, Yang swears by them!”

“No, no I’m fine without the massage Ruby.” Weiss flailed her arms slightly, attracting a raised eyebrow from Blake.

“If you’re sure…” Ruby’s head vanished from sight, presumably back to her scroll. Weiss slowly settled back down, pulling out her own scroll to look over the news, trying to ignore the dulcet tones of Yang singing in the shower. This was fine, just team RWBY relaxing in evening as usual, she’d made it through another day, the hardest kind of day. Weiss shuddered to think of the next time she’d have to remove her regrown wings and how she’d be able to get the others out of the room for long enough.

“Hey girls, any of you know what this was doing in the bathroom?” Yang had emerged from the bathroom, towel wrapped around her torso. Weiss looked up at her and froze. Held delicately in Yang’s hand was a painfully familiar, large black and white feather. How could she have missed one? She’d been so thorough with cleaning the bathroom, no traces of blood or fire dust, only to be caught out by a single feather.

“Huh? What’s a feather doing in our bathroom?” Ruby cocked her head in puzzlement.

Yang rolled her eyes “I don’t know Rubes, that’s why I’m asking.” She looked over to Blake. “Any idea Blakey?”

Blake looked up at Yang, scrutinised the feather closely, “No, no idea, sorry.” And then returned to reading.

“Weiss?”

“What? Oh, of course not. Just throw it away or something.” Weiss huffed, looking away.

“Well, I guess it’s a mystery.” Yang shrugged, moving to the bin in the corner.

“Wait!” Ruby called out scrambling off her bed and over to her sister. “Don’t throw it away!”

“Why not Rubes?” Yang tilted her head.

“I want to keep it.”

“What?” Weiss stared at Ruby. “Why would you want to keep such an ugly, useless thing?”

Ruby gave Weiss an odd look. “I think it looks really pretty and soft, so I want to keep it. Please Yang?” She pouted up, silver eyes wide and pleading.

“Yeah, sure.” Yang held out the feather and Ruby snatched it, rushing back up onto her bunk, carefully placing the feather in amongst some other small trinkets Ruby had accumulated over the last few weeks.

“Well if we’re quite done, I’m going to get changed.” Weiss sniffed, moving over to her dresser, pulling out her night gown and walked perhaps a little too swiftly over to the bathroom and shut the door behind her with a snap. Though she caught the last snatch of conversation as the door swung shut.

“What’s up with the ice princess?”

Checking the door was securely locked, Weiss made her way over to the mirror, hands clutched either side of the sink, icy eyes glared back at her. “It’s fine, it was just a stupid feather. They don’t know.” She reassured herself, splashing some water on her face. Silently, Weiss finished her preparations, double checking her nightdress covered her bindings properly.

Yang was already snoring away on her bunk when Weiss stepped back out. How Blake was able to sleep with that noise above her and an extra set of ears was beyond her. Exhausted from the day’s efforts, Weiss dropped her clothes into the basket and fell face first onto her bed.

“Weeeeiiiiiissss?” A wheedling voice issued from above. “Could you get the lights?”

“What about Blake? She’s still reading.” Weiss pointed out, voice muffled by pillows.

“I’ll be fine thank you Weiss, Night vision, remember?” Of course Weiss remembered, hard to forget when you yourself could also see almost perfectly in the dark. Restraining herself from scoffing at the notion that she would forget anything, Weiss pulled herself up and over to the door, snapping of the light and plunging the room into darkness. As Weiss deftly weaved her way back to her bed, she noticed Blake watching her over the top of her book. Did she suspect something? Thinking fast, Weiss deliberately smacked her shin into her bed, stumbling and falling gracelessly onto the bunk. Ignoring Blake’s suppressed snicker, Weiss crawled back under the covers, gingerly lying back.

All in all, the day hadn’t gone terribly she supposed. Sure she’d been caught disposing of the evidence and missed that feather during the clean-up. But that had been so much better than any of the scenarios she’d envisioned that morning. One of the team bursting into the bathroom. Finding out what she was disposing of. Ruby seeing her scars. Sighing quietly, Weiss pulled the blankets around herself and slowly drifted off.


	2. Chapter 2

Weiss was surrounded by darkness, inky blackness not even her enhanced vision could penetrate. Then a bright light slammed on, enveloping her in a spotlight. Of course, she was in the concert hall. She remembered now, she was here for a recital.

She couldn’t make out the individual faces of her audience, not that it really mattered. Just a formless mass of people, come to hear the Schnee heiress make her pretty noises.

Breathing deeply, she began, words flowing effortlessly out, soaring above the music. Her favourite song, one she’d written years ago, a song of loneliness, isolation and pain. The words came faster, the tempo increasing, as the song began to reach its crescendo, Weiss felt muscles flex, unfamiliar muscles rippled across her back. No, no, no, this couldn’t be happening. She tried to stop the tensing but couldn’t as her wings rose behind her, extending to their full majestic size. White tipped with black surrounded her and the last notes faded away.

Weiss could hear the shocked muttering, then the rising shouts of rage and hate.

“Freak!”

“Animal!”

“Filthy degenerate!”

She saw her father stand from his box, shaking his head in disgust as he turned away. Then came the stones, hurled from amongst crowd along with more screamed insults. Weiss’ wings flared, shielding her from the onslaught, she couldn’t stay she had to leave, run, _fly_.

Wings flaring out and beating hard, Weiss launched into the air, soaring above the noise, feeling the wind against her face. She’d never felt so free before, why had she ever thought removing her wings was a good idea? Wait, she’d removed her wings. Looking back in horror she felt excruciating pain as feathers shed, spinning off into the darkness. Limbs charred and burned away and she was falling, falling.

“NO!” Weiss jerked awake with a scream, rolling sideways and dropping to the floor with a thump.

“Wha? What’s happenin’?” Yang’s blonde curls popped up, sleepy lavender eyes looking down at the tangled mess that was Weiss and her bedding.

“It’s nothing Yang, go back to sleep.” Weiss grumbled, pulling herself free and glaring up at Yang.

“Didn’t sound like nothing princess. You wanna talk about it?” Yang had now propped herself up and was peering at Weiss through the dark.

“I said it’s nothing.” Glancing down, Weiss saw Blake snoring gently, book laid across her chest and could hear Ruby’s even breathing behind her. How on Remnant had they not been woken up?

“Look Weiss, I get that you’re still kinda prickly but you said that next time something big happens we should come to the team.” Weiss opened her mouth but Yang steamrollered on. “And I’m sure you’ll say this isn’t a big deal, but would it kill you to open up a little?” Weiss clicked her mouth shut, looking away from Yang.

“I just had a nightmare, that’s all. Happy now?”

“There ya go princess, progress.” Yang smiled widely. “You can tell me about it if you want, no pressure though. It’s just, well, Rubes used to get bad nightmares and talking through them helped her, so if you want to…?” Yang tailed off, the question hanging in the air between them.

“I… No, thank you Yang, for the offer. But I’m fine now.” Weiss finished disentangling herself from the sheets and laid them neatly back on the bed.

“If you’re sure, offer’s always open.” Yang flopped back onto her pillows and within a minute was snoring away again. Shaking her head at Yang’s amazing abilities to fall asleep in an instant, Weiss crawled back into her own bunk and slowly drifted off, thoughts of concerts and flying lulling her to sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

All too soon, Weiss was pulled unceremoniously from her slumber by the incessant beeping of her scroll’s alarm. Swiftly reaching out and turning off the alarm, she fell back against the pillows and stared up at the bottom of Ruby’s bunk.

She didn’t really need to be up this early on a Sunday, but it wouldn’t do for Weiss to break her routines. She’d already failed at maintaining them at the start of the year and fallen prey to Ruby’s ‘team spirit’ whistle. Everyone had regretted the aftermath of the third time Ruby had woken Weiss with the blasted thing. There may have been a lot of yelling, followed by the whistle being launched by a gravity glyph out the window to land somewhere in the Emerald Forest.

Weiss still refused to apologise for this incident and forbade Ruby from acquiring a new whistle on pain of having her feet frozen to the ceiling.

But she couldn’t lie around contemplating past events. Groaning a little as she pulled herself upright, Weiss slipped out of bed and padded over to her dresser. Pulling out a fresh dress, she checked that her other team-mates were still sleeping before pulling out some fresh bandages and ointment with her shower caddy and slipped quickly into the bathroom.

Locking the door with a satisfying click, Weiss shed her night dress and bandages and got her first good look at her back since the day before. Her aura had done quite a good job healing the burns, despite her constantly depleted reserves, though they were still red and raw atop the years of previous marks.

Carefully placing the medical supplies to one side, Weiss stepped into the tub and turned up the heat as high as it would go. She gently swabbed the fresh burns as the scalding water cascaded over her until her skin began to turn pink. Weiss then switched the shower over to the other extreme as she reached past Blake and Ruby’s shampoos for her own in the caddy. The icy water numbed her back as she massaged shampoo into her scalp and washed out the lather.

Satisfied with the state of her hair, Weiss clambered out, towelled off and turned her attention to the medical supplies she’d brought in. Wincing slightly at the stinging, Weiss smeared the antiseptic over the remaining burns and gently bandaged over some padding. She could already feel the tingling just under the surface of her skin.

Swaddling her hair in her towel and pulling on the dress, Weiss stepped back into the room to find Blake sat up, reading again, with the two sisters still snoring away.

“Good morning.” Blake flicked her ear in acknowledgement, not looking up from her book. Weiss still found it odd that Blake was now so open about being a Faunus to them, she’d stopped wearing the bow in their room for the last few days. Yang had asked about the change but Blake had just smiled enigmatically and said it was unnecessary now they knew.

Still, knowing they were there and actually seeing them were completely different things to Weiss’ mind and she couldn’t help staring at Blake’s uncovered ears as they’d flick and twitch every so often. Fortunately for Weiss she was incredibly subtle and had never been caught.

“Weiss? How long are you going to stand there staring?” Blake intoned, still engrossed in the novel. Squeaking, Weiss hurried over, unceremoniously dumped her things in her dresser and sat down at the desk. Studiously avoiding looking at Blake and ignoring her huffs of laughter, Weiss unwrapped her hair and set at it with her brush. This was her favourite part of the morning routine, back when she’d been too young to brush her hair properly and Winter would do it for her. Before father insisted Winter stop coddling her, before Winter departed for Atlas academy and left Weiss alone.

Weiss shook her head. No, it doesn’t do to dwell on the past. A Schnee should always look ahead, just keep moving forward. And today promised to be a good day, no crazy plans and no shenanigans of any kind. Just Weiss, her textbooks and an essay for professor Port on migratory habits of Nevermore due in three weeks. Allowing a brief sigh of contentment at the prospect of a beautiful essay, Weiss finished brushing and tied back her hair, ensuring the tiara was secure.

Rising gracefully, she looked over at Blake still sat against the headboard of her bed. “I’m going down for breakfast now.” Weiss smoothed out her dress, collected her scroll and glanced up at the two still snoring sisters. “I trust you three will join me shortly?” Blake nodded, once again not looking up from her book.

Sighing, Weiss left the room and made her way down to the dining hall. The room was mostly empty, as expected for an early Sunday morning, just how Weiss liked it. She collected her breakfast from the counter by the side and settled herself at the end of one of the long rows of tables.

Routine was always important, so Weiss always ensured she arrived for breakfast early to ensure she got her usual food. It was odd that although Ruby and Yang had picked up on Blake’s love of fish, particularly tuna, rather easily; none of them seemed to have noticed Weiss’ taste for salmon. Weiss idly considered her team’s lack of observational skill as she spread cream cheese on her bagel and carefully laid the delicious smoked salmon atop. Ideally it would have been raw, but sushi for breakfast would’ve raised a few eyebrows. Maybe she could persuade Blake to help her get Ruby and Yang to agree to going out for sushi sometime. Weiss was sure Blake would cave if she tempted her with the tuna sashimi.

Weiss smiled softly as she enjoyed her bagel, scrolling through her scroll checking the news and SDC stocks. They were down again, unsurprising after it had leaked that a large shipment of dust had been stolen last week. She had a small suspicion that Blake had been the leak. The two of them may now be on good enough terms again but that didn’t necessarily extend to the SDC as a whole.

To be honest, Weiss wasn’t even sure she blamed her. She’d taken it upon herself to investigate Blake’s claims and had been horrified by what she’d found. Weiss had never heard of these unsafe labour practices or mistreatment of the Faunus before. The only times she’d even heard about the Faunus was when her father would rant about the latest White Fang attack or why aunt something or other wouldn’t be coming to her birthday.

Back then it only made sense that since the only Faunus Weiss knew of back then were the White Fang, then all Faunus must be like them. Then her wings started growing back, not that she’d known she’d had them before then. Her aura had been activated and at first there’d been an itching right by her shoulder blades, then the little nubs of bone and finally the soft downy growth of new feathers.

Naturally Weiss had freaked out at this, how could she be one of those filthy degenerates father shouted about? She couldn’t go to father about this, Winter had gone to Atlas academy and mother… She barely came into the thought process. So she did the only thing a scared ten year old with a sword and access to dust could do.

“Uuuhhh” Weiss groaned, she’d been at it again. Thinking about the past. She shook her head violently, trying to dislodge the thoughts. She couldn’t change the past, no matter how much she may want to. There was only now and the future, and right now her future held a fascinating session of research for her essay. Visibly cheered by the thought of a well thought out essay, Weiss continued to eat her breakfast. So lost in thoughts of how productive today would be, she didn’t notice a loud blonde and her hyperactive sister until they dropped down on either side of her accompanied by their silent teammate.

“Hey Weiss!” Ruby mumbled around a mouthful of marshmallow flakes. “Didn’t see you earlier.”

“That’s because unlike some of this team, I had important things to attend to.” Weiss grumbled, barely acknowledging Yang and Blake’s presence.

“Why so prickly this morning Weiss? Did ya not get enough sleep after that thing last night?” Yang inquired, buttering her toast.

Weiss jerked and flailed her arms. “What!? No. What thing? Nothing happened last night!” She was addressing this more to Blake and Ruby as she sent her best death glare at Yang.

“Alright then, if you say so ice queen.” Yang drawled, taking a massive chunk out of the poor defenceless toast. Then Ruby piped up from Weiss’ other side.

“Sooooo, Weiss. We were having a chat on the way down here and we sorta decided that today is going to be a team bonding day!” She grinned at Weiss, ignoring the death glare now turned on her.

“What do you mean, team bonding day? I have plans, essays to write, work to be done.”

“Well we,” Ruby gestured at Yang and herself, “decided that we should be doing more stuff together so we can work better together. And we thought maybe we could make this a weekly thing, starting with a pair bonding thing so Yang and I can have some good old fashioned sisterly bonding time ‘cause we haven’t been able to in ages.”

Weiss could feel the cogs turning in her head as she started to piece together the plan. “Wait, so that would mean…”

“Oh also Yang and I are going to need the room for this so if you two could stay out for like two hours that’d be great!” Ruby rushed out, swallowing the last of her cereal and grabbing Yang, hauling her to her feet, toast still clutched in the mouth. “Okaysoseeyouguyslaterbyeeeeee!” Ruby sped off dragging a slightly bemused Yang after her. Weiss sighed and looked uneasily over at Blake who’d barely reacted to this rather odd turn of events.

“I hope Ruby doesn’t make a habit of making these big proclamations at breakfast.” Blake stated, nibbling at her own bagel, looking shrewdly over at Weiss. “We don’t have to do anything if you’ve got things to do Weiss, I know this is making you uncomfortable.” Damn that woman and her perceptiveness. Weiss sighed again, she’d really wanted to work on that essay this morning. But, she had made a promise and Schnee’s don’t break promises.

“No, it’s alright Blake. I promised I’d be a better teammate, so if Ruby says we need to do team bonding, I guess we’re bonding.” She attempted a small smile at Blake. “You’re partial to tea, yes?” Blake nodded. “I’ve heard there’s a small café across campus, I’ve never been. Perhaps you’d join me? I imagine that would be more to your taste than anything Ruby or Yang are planning for their bonding activity.”

Blake looked pensively at Weiss and she had this strange feeling as though her very soul was being scrutinised. Then, Blake nodded breaking into a soft smile. “Yes, I think I’d like that. Let me just finish this and we can go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! New chapter, I'm aiming for roughly weekly updates, so, off to a good start with that. Full disclosure, I know roughly where I'm going with this, but I definitely don't know exactly how I'm getting there. So that'll be a fun journey and as such, new tags will be added as and when characters or stuff shows up as reflected in the shiny new tags. And now I'm rambling.
> 
> As before comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

Weiss both appreciated and was deeply uncomfortable with the silence between her and Blake as they made their way across the campus. Blake it seemed, had no desire to make small talk and Weiss had no idea how to start a conversation. What on Remnant could they even talk about? Classes and assignments? Not the most riveting of subjects, or so she’d been told. The systematic abuse and oppression of Blake’s people? Well, technically Weiss’ people too she supposed. Anyway, not the cheeriest of subjects. The weather perhaps? Now she was just being silly. How could this be so hard?!

“Weiss? Are you alright? You look frustrated.” Blake’s mildly concerned voice snapped Weiss out of her thoughts.

“Yes, I’m fine thank you.” She rapidly schooled her expression into something resembling a smile. “So… how was your trip into Vale yesterday?” Success! Finally, a good, sensible subject for small talk.

“Oh, it was very enjoyable, we mostly just wandered around the festival stalls. Yang found a bookstore I’d never heard of and we had sushi for dinner.” Weiss bit back a groan of disappointment.

“That sounds great!” She forced down the bitter irritation with saccharine cheer. She was a Schnee, she was above such things as petty jealousy over something as trivial as going out for sushi.

Besides, perhaps there was a silver lining to this. Now she could get Ruby to take her out for partner bonding, she’d buy that. But Ruby probably wouldn’t know how to use chopsticks, uncultured as she is, so it would fall to Weiss to teach her. But then she’d be so clumsy at it, just like everything else, so Weiss would be forced to feed Ruby herself. Then Ruby would somehow end up getting soy sauce on her face and do that scrunched up nose thing she does whenever she gets flustered, forcing Weiss to wipe the sauce off and…

“You’re spacing out again Weiss.” Blake’s flat drawl broke into Weiss’ train of thought again. “You’ve been doing that a lot the last couple of days.”

Weiss shook her head in irritation, Blake was right. Today alone she’d gotten distracted four times by unnecessary thoughts. “I suppose I have haven’t I? I just have a lot on my mind, assignments and the like.” Blake raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment.

“Well we’re here, perhaps some coffee will help you get back to yourself.” Yes, coffee. That would get Weiss out of this odd introspective funk.

Blake led the way inside, it was similar to other establishments she’d seen around Vale, though she’d never ventured inside any. Warm yellow lights gave it a cosy atmosphere, brick walls and plush looking armchairs scattered around tables. It was a far cry from the sharp lines and polished surfaces of Atlas’ design sensibilities.

Following Blake over to the counter, Weiss glanced up at the menu boards and stopped dead. She barely paid attention to Blake telling the barista her order, too busy staring at the long list of what were presumably drinks, misto, cappuccino, macchiato. What on Remnant were these? Was there just a simple black coffee? There certainly didn’t seem to be one listed.

“Weiss? You going to order something?” Blake turned back to see Weiss still gaping at the menus in complete bafflement.

“I… I’m not sure. I don’t even know what these are.” Weiss mumbled, flushing. “All we’d have was black coffee, no cream, no sugar. How father liked it.” She looked away, hand gripping her other arm loosely.

Blake’s mouth twitched, eyes filled with pity? Sympathy? Weiss couldn’t tell. “How about this, you get us a table and I’ll order you something I think you’ll like. Sound good?” Weiss nodded and wandered over to a small corner table, settling awkwardly into an armchair. There were a few other students sat about, some chatting with friends, others with what looked to be assignments. She sighed enviously, thinking again of that essay.

“Here, jasmine tea for me and a caffè mocha for you.” Blake set a cup down in front of Weiss and curled up in the seat opposite with her own. Weiss examined the contents, light brown, even lighter than how Ruby took her coffee, with a leaf pattern drawn in some kind of powder. “Try it.” Blake coaxed, sipping at her tea.

Weiss picked up the cup and took a slightly suspicious sniff, it smelled quite sweet she couldn’t quite make out what it was behind the coffee that made it smell like that. Hesitantly, she raised the cup and took a swig. It was gorgeous. Warm sweetness spread over Weiss’ tongue as she savoured the taste.

“Is there chocolate in this?” Blake smiled and nodded.

“I thought you might enjoy something a bit sweeter, especially without Ruby around to steal it.” Weiss rolled her eyes, remembering the now infamous cheesecake incident, Jaune still flinched whenever Ruby or Nora made any sudden moves around food. “Yes well, Ruby’s predilection for sugary food and drink aside, this really is quite wonderful.” She took another drink, enjoying the warmth as it rolled down her throat. “What did you say it was, caffè mocha right?”

Blake nodded affirmatively. “That’s right, I think it comes from old Valean, a lot of coffee names are derived from it.” She set down her cup and looked thoughtfully over at Weiss. “I would’ve thought you’d have studied it.”

“No, only some ancient Mantle. I suppose you did though since you presumably knew what all the drinks were.”

“I didn’t actually, I just picked it up from occasionally visiting places like this, though I do prefer tea to coffee.” Blake’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly. “Hold on, when you said you’d never been to this café before you didn’t mean just this one did you? You’ve never been into a café before today.” Weiss’ cheeks turned bright pink and she looked away hurriedly, becoming very interested in a painting of the Emerald Forest all of a sudden. “Weiss it’s fine. Like I said I only visited places like this occasionally. Being a part of… you know, didn’t exactly leave much free time for things like this.”

Weiss glanced back at Blake, still slightly pink. “I…” Weiss steeled herself, “rarely left the Schnee Manor, I would only leave to perform at concerts.” She sighed, looking down at the half empty cup. “I barely knew what happened outside the walls, I only read newspapers father approved of and only heard about the world through him and his aide.” She grimaced, avoiding Blake’s gaze. “The only thing I was allowed to watch was tournament footage and even then that was after months of work persuading father it would help in my training.”

Blake looked rather unsettled by this. “Weiss, that sounds terrible.”

“It wasn’t at the start, not really. I just thought that was how things were supposed to be.” The regrowing bones gave a painful twinge. “Then, something happened. And I realised I needed to get out of there. That I wasn’t safe, I couldn’t be father’s pet anymore.” She looked up sharply, flushing. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean…” Weiss trailed off helplessly.

“Didn’t mean what?” Blake blinked in confusion.

“Isn’t it offensive? Using words like pet.”

“Weiss, I’m not offended just by the word pet. You weren’t insulting me or referring to me as that.” Blake broke out into a genuine smile. “Though I am glad you’re considering things like that, especially after last week.”

“Honestly, I wish that had never happened. That we could all just forget I said anything and move on.” Weiss muttered. Was this how team bonding was supposed to work? It felt sort of cathartic being able to talk with Blake like this, but also really awkward and, in Ruby’s words, ‘sucky’.

“I don’t.” Blake’s voice was suddenly stern. “You can’t just forget something or pretend it never happened just because it was painful or you feel guilty about it.”

“It’s the Schnee way, or at least what my father told me it was. We don’t look back, we keep moving forward.” Weiss defended weakly.

“Then he’s wrong. You can’t let your past define you, but that doesn’t mean you should just ignore it. Use it to grow, mistakes are learning experiences.” Blake huffed out a small chuckle. “When I was first learning how to use a blade, I accidentally stabbed myself in the hand trying to catch Gambol. Imagine if I didn’t learn from that, I’d be missing all my fingers by now.” Weiss tried a wan smile.

“I… suppose you may be right about learning from your mistakes.” Weiss sighed heavily, looking away again. “But I’m not supposed to make them in the first place. I’m a Schnee, Schnee’s are supposed to be the embodiment of perfection. My sister is. That I’m not, is a stain on the family name.” Blake was starting to look a bit irritated now.

“Again with the ‘I’m a Schnee’ spiel. Weiss, look at me.” Weiss met Blake’s amber eyes. “You are Weiss before anything else. I get that you’ve had this drilled into you since you were a child. Believe me, I know how hard it can be to break out of twisted ways of thinking. You’re more than just a family name.” Blake dropped back against her chair.

“Why are you doing this?” Weiss’ voice was barely a whisper. “Why are you trying to help me? I hated you a week ago, said terrible things about you and people like you.” People like me, she silently added. “I said I’d forgiven you, but you shouldn’t have forgiven me.” Weiss felt agitation running up and down her back.

Blake’s voice was firm. “Weiss, stop talking, you aren’t helping yourself thinking like this. Just slow down, finish your drink and try to calm down.”

She watched sternly as Weiss drained her cup and set it back down on the table. “Better?” Weiss nodded. “Good. Now please, just listen and no interrupting.” She nodded again. “You said you wanted to do this because you promised Ruby you were going to be a better teammate and I can’t fault you on that. But I think there more to it than that, you can’t be a better teammate without first becoming a better person.” Weiss opened her mouth to retort but closed it again quietly.

“You want to know why I forgave you for last week? It’s because I can see that better person. I got a glimpse of her a couple of months ago after Port’s class with the Boarbatusk, but I only really started to see her after last week.” Blake paused to take another drink. “However, I think to become a better person, you first need to know who you are, and by that I mean who Weiss is. Not Weiss Schnee, heiress to the SDC, just Weiss. And I don’t think you’re quite there yet.” Blake finished her drink and set it down next to Weiss’ cup, shrugging. “Just something for you to think about.”

“I’m not entirely sure what to say.” Weiss spoke hesitantly, thoughts whirling around her head. What on Remnant did Blake mean about knowing who you are? Of course Weiss knew who she was. Didn’t she? “I suppose I’ll think about what you said, I can’t really promise much, but I do want to be a better teammate, a better person.”

“That’s all I can ask for, that you think about it.” Blake stood up and stretched out languidly. “Now if I’m not mistaken, you mentioned you had essays to write. I wouldn’t mind if we were to go to the library and work on them for a while.” She offered a hand to Weiss who took it and rose from her seat.

“That would be rather enjoyable.” Weiss smoothed out her skirt and led the way out of the café.

Perhaps Ruby was right about some of this team bonding thing, Weiss did feel at least a bit closer to Blake. If nothing else, she now knew Blake liked jasmine tea.

 

* * *

 

 

When Blake and Weiss returned to the dorm, it resembled more of an explosion in a pillow factory than anything else. Feathers covered every surface and several were still gently floating in the air.

“Ruby! Yang! What on Remnant happened in here?!” Weiss shrieked, stepping into the carnage.

Ruby’s head popped up from behind their bunks, giggling nervously. “Uh well, it’s a funny story really. Yang and I were playing some games on our scrolls and maybe things got a bit out of hand and so we may have had a pillow fight and need some new bedding.” Yang was trying and failing to stifle her snickers from across the room as Weiss dropped her face into her hands.

“I am going to dinner, by the time I get back this had all better be cleaned up. Am I clear?” Weiss span on her heel and marched out of the room, not noticing the feathers that had settled in her hair as she left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly early posting this week to make up for what may be an erratic posting schedule for the next few weeks, owing to that unfortunate thing I have to deal with called 'Real life'. So apologies in advance for that, but don't worry, chapters should still be coming every week-ish. 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

To say the next few days of classes had been dull and nothing had happened would’ve been an insult to all the dedicated teachers at Beacon who worked tirelessly to ensure the students gained the best education they could. That said, nothing really had happened and Weiss was slightly unnerved by the lack of activity. After the events at the docks and several other prior incidents, normally instigated by Nora or Yang, Weiss felt on edge. Like _something_ should be happening.

Fortunately, the last class on Wednesday was sparring practice with Professor Goodwitch and Weiss was looking forward to hopefully burning off some of this nervous energy.

“And that’s the match. Excellent work Mr Ren, good usage of your greater mobility, although you may wish to work on your stamina.” Professor Goodwitch approached the centre of the arena examining her scroll, Ren himself was leant up against the wall panting heavily. “And Mr Thrush, I suggest you work on some strategies that don’t involve constantly throwing yourself blindly at your opponent.” Russel didn’t seem to be paying attention as he limped out of the arena.

“Right, next match. Are there any volunteers?” Professor Goodwitch surveyed the watching students before alighting on Weiss. “Miss Schnee, you haven’t sparred in the last few weeks and your opponent…” She flipped through her scroll. “Mr Winchester I think.” The two of them eyed each other up, Cardin smirked at Weiss’ calculating frown. “If you two would prepare yourselves please. Mr Ren, if you’ve caught you breath, I suggest you vacate the arena. Unless you wish to get caught in the crossfire."

* * *

 

Weiss straightened her tiara, ensuring her hair was properly secured and double-checked the dust cylinders in Myrtenaster were filled. Her back twinged again, she’d checked in the mirror that morning and had seen the two small lumps already forming. Shrugging off the slight pain and holding her head high, she marched out into the arena.

“Woo Weiss, kick his butt!” Ruby yelled from above as Weiss approached the centre, facing Cardin whose mace was casually propped up on his shoulder.

“Combatants ready?” Both nodded. Professor Goodwitch fiddled with her scroll, scanning the pair and projecting their auras up on the large screen. Weiss raised Myrtenaster, left foot sliding forward as she eyed Cardin readying his mace. “Begin!”

“Yaaaaah!” Cardin threw himself forwards mace swinging down for a crushing blow that Weiss quickly sidestepped. Taking advantage of his momentary drop in defence, Weiss lashed out, scoring a hit between the gaps in his armour as his momentum carried him past her. Twirling, Weiss span the chambers and launched a volley of icicles, several impacting Cardin as he too whirled around but more were smashed aside by the giant mace. “Ha! You’ll have to try better than that ice queen.” He taunted swinging the mace lazily as Weiss prepared for the next phrase.

Cardin held back this time, waiting for Weiss to make the first move. She obliged, gliding forward, feinting right and managing several jabs past his guard before she was forced to retreat as the mace came swinging down again, slamming into the ground where Weiss had stood. Glancing up at the screen, Weiss was shocked to see Cardin’s aura had barely dropped, it still looked almost full. Distracted by this, she almost missed Cardin’s charge. She just parried the blow, though she still felt the impact judder up her arm as she danced backwards out or reach.

Too slow, the mace came swinging back and caught Weiss hard in the side sending her flying across the arena, almost slamming into the wall had she not regained control mid-air and summoned a glyph to land on and drop to the floor. Again, Weiss looked up at the large screen.

Half aura.

That one hit had taken half her aura.

Weiss was in trouble, she dare not get close to Cardin, one more hit and she was finished. Not to mention her strikes were dealing minimal damage to him. But she was sorely lacking in any effective ranged attacks. Weiss cursed softly, regretting not letting Ruby attach a gun to her sword.

Weiss span the chambers as she dodged a fireball, keeping Cardin as far away as possible. Thinking quickly she sent another volley of icicles which were smashed aside once more. She needed a plan, something clever, there was no way she could overpower him. Dodging another fireball, Weiss’ eyes lit up. It just might work, dust chambers spinning Weiss stabbed the blade into the floor as the next fireball came flying towards her. A thin wall of ice rose to meet the fire and was promptly vaporised on impact, sending a large cloud of mist swirling across the arena. Weiss smirked, speeding into the mist, letting it hide her. No way Cardin could see her in this, nor hear her as she glided around. She on the other hand, could hear him perfectly as he cursed and stomped around.

Excellent, Weiss skated around her opponent, summoning several glyphs. She would likely only get one shot at this before he did something smart like use his fire dust to dispel the mist. She could feel the exhaustion building as she finished the set-up preparing one final glyph on herself, she hoped it would work, she’d never tried a time glyph on herself before.

There was a whoosh as Weiss launched herself at Cardin, fast, faster than she’d gone before. First strike, slicing across his torso. Onto the glyph, bouncing back, second across his back. Weiss sped from glyph to glyph, using each one as leverage to send herself flying back towards Cardin.

The final glyph, summoned directly above his head. Weiss leapt, spinning and catching herself with the gravity, swivelling and facing down. She leaped, spinning as she went, Myrtenaster singing as she struck, slicing down his front as she landed. Weiss looked up, surely that should have done it.

The mace swung down, she dodged aside and saw his fist rising up to meet her. She tried to summon a glyph to block the blow, but it didn’t materialise. Cardin’s fist collided with Weiss’ stomach, forcing the air out of her and she staggered back, winded and retching.

“And that’s the match.” Goodwitch’s voice cut through the mist. It swirled and dissipated with a wave of her crop. She’d done it, she’d won and Cardin would be penalised for hitting her out of turn.

“Congratulations Mr Winchester.”

Weiss’ already pained stomach dropped. She looked up at the screen, sure enough her aura had dropped into the red whilst Cardin’s was sat at around 40%. Buzzing filled her ears, she barely heard Goodwitch’s analysis of Cardin’s techniques. She’d lost. How could she have lost?

“Miss Schnee?” Weiss blinked rapidly looking up at Professor Goodwitch. “An admirable performance, an excellent use of tactics to attempt to overcome a far tougher opponent than yourself.” She turned away, looking over her shoulder at Weiss. “Also if you wouldn’t mind, I would like a private word with you after class.” She strode back to the centre of the arena, attention back on her scroll as she mulled over who the next to spar would be.

Weiss limped back to the training room and slumped down on a bench. She could still hear the buzzing, she’d lost. To Cardin, of all people. She’d lost.

“Weiss? You in here?” A piping voice rang out from the entrance, Ruby darted in and over to Weiss. “Are you okay?” She was not okay and now she had to deal with Ruby. She didn’t need pity from someone who’d already trounced Cardin. She couldn’t cope with Ruby looking at her like that.

“I’m fine, I just… need to shower. If you wouldn’t mind leaving me alone.” Weiss’ voice was tight, clipped.

“O-oh, okay. I’ll see you later I guess.” Weiss couldn’t bring herself to look up at Ruby as she wilted and slowly walked out of the room. Picking up her uniform and towel, Weiss walked into one of the shower cubicles, setting her things and dress aside, she turned the shower’s heat as high as she could. Weiss stepped under the scalding spray, letting it cascade down, turning her skin bright pink.

Weiss slumped against the side of the shower, choking back sobs. She’d failed, father was right, she was just a worthless animal. She slammed her fist into the tiled wall. No. She wouldn’t think like that. Faunus weren’t animals, Blake wasn’t an animal, _she_ wasn’t some animal.

That didn’t mean she wasn’t worthless for other reasons though. Look at Winter, she was perfect, she’d perfected summoning without any instruction when she was sixteen. What had Weiss done? Nothing. She was pathetic, not good enough for team leader, she couldn’t beat Cardin in fight. That put her on par with Jaune in terms of fighting skill. Her fist hit the tiles again, tears leaking out and mingling with the stream of water.

She had to get a hold of herself. She was a Schnee, and Schnee’s weren’t reduced to snivelling wrecks because of one setback. Sniffing hard, swiping at the tear tracks, Weiss stood up straight and finished washing off.

* * *

 

“Miss Schnee, if you wouldn’t mind taking a seat.” Professor Goodwitch gestured to the simple chair in front of her desk. Weiss decided she didn’t like the professor’s office, almost entirely empty save for a single bookshelf and the desk in the centre. It reminded her uncomfortably of another stark office space. “Miss Schnee, I shall get right to the point. Have you received a severe injury recently that you haven’t disclosed to the infirmary or faculty?”

Weiss started, this was not what she’d been expecting. She’d thought Professor Goodwitch had called her in to berate her for her poor performance earlier.

“N-no, why would you think that?” Weiss tried to keep the slight tremor out of her voice.

“Because Miss Schnee, and I’d have thought that you’d know this, serious injuries can take large amounts of aura to heal over a longer period of time, stunting your aura reserves, rather than healing almost immediately.” She steepled her fingers, scrutinising Weiss. “Mr Winchester may be strong, but I am certain that he isn’t strong enough to knock out half your aura with one blow.”

“But my aura was green, it was full at the start. If I had an injury, surely it wouldn’t have been.”

“That is because the aura reading technology only checks your current aura levels and assumes it is at a maximum. There is no way of directly quantifying aura Miss Schnee, given how much aura reserves and potency vary it would be a futile task.” Professor Goodwitch sighed.

“I’ve seen you fight before Miss Schnee and your aura has always seemed to be both incredibly potent and have fairly significant reserves. So the only possible way your aura could have been broken so easily is if something was draining it.” She had significant reserves of aura? Weiss was surprised by this, she’d always thought her aura had been rather limited ever since it had been activated. Although she had noted it felt weaker than usual recently. She racked her brain, thinking back on Goodwitch’s words.

Then it hit her. Her wings.

That must be it. Her regrowing wings were draining her aura for healing. But then surely it would mean that the sheared off bone would heal up as Goodwitch said and not be regrowing.

Truth be told, Weiss had never really considered why her wings grew back instead of the wound simply healing over, too busy worrying over the wings themselves to care about why or how. Regardless, she needed an excuse for Professor Goodwitch, she absolutely couldn’t find out about her nature.

Thinking quickly, Weiss affected an embarrassed expression. “Well, I have been struggling to breathe these past few days, since a sparring session with Yang. I took a few hits to the chest and stomach. Perhaps that’s it?” Professor Goodwitch looked at Weiss suspiciously.

“It might, broken ribs and other internal injuries could cause your aura to be drained for a longer amount of time than usual.” She looked sharply at Weiss. “So if this has been bothering you, why did you not visit the infirmary?”

“I ah, didn’t want to trouble them, and was rather embarrassed that I’d managed to hurt myself like that. I figured that the pain would go away after a day or two.” Weiss mumbled sheepishly, not hard to do under the professor’s stern gaze. Goodwitch sighed resignedly.

“Very well Miss Schnee, you’re free to go. Please just remember to report any further injuries to the infirmary.” Her glare softened slightly. “Whilst you are at Beacon, we are responsible for your health and well-being. But we can’t perform that duty if you are not forthcoming when you are hurt, especially if it’s over some misplaced pride or embarrassment. Understand?”

“Of course, Professor.” Weiss stood and stepped quickly over to the door and left the office. She waited until she’d put several corridors between herself and Goodwitch’s office before letting out a massive sigh of relief and slumping against the wall. Weiss’ scroll vibrated, pulling it out she saw several messages from Ruby asking where she was, whether she was okay and could she eat ten cookies for supper. Ignoring the last one, Weiss shot back a message, ‘I’m fine thank you. Meet you at dinner. I have some errands to attend to first.’

Weiss tucked away her scroll. The discussion with Professor Goodwitch had raised a few questions. Chief amongst them, why were her wings regrowing? She thought back to her chat with Blake at the café. To be a better person, you first need to know who you are.

What better place to start than understanding more about her nature? She had two hours before the rest of the team would go for dinner, plenty of time for research. Satisfied with this plan, Weiss trotted off to the library for her second favourite activity after essay writing, extracurricular research.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this now as, owing to the aforementioned 'Real Life' I have to attend to, I most likely wouldn't be able to post it this weekend. I'm not sure exactly when next chapter will be posted, probably the Saturday, but most likely whenever I have the time next week.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

Weiss slumped back into her chair. She’d spent half an hour already searching through the library looking for books on aura healing and had found exactly zero with any useful information. It seemed most of the books were more interested in theories behind the existence of aura or how semblances manifested. Although almost all of them had at least a single passage about aura healing, none went beyond stating that aura could heal people of their injuries. Weiss had scoffed at the sheer amount of times it had cropped up in separate texts. Surely this sort of knowledge was commonplace.

Correcting her posture, Weiss reached out and grabbed the next book from the pile she’d collected. ‘Aura and its Application’ a rather simple title, so Weiss didn’t hold out much hope. This one too would probably be filled with talk on semblances. She scanned idly down the contents, manifestation of the soul, aura activation, healing, aura projection. Wait, what was that one before? Weiss looked back at the chapter title, sure enough an entire chapter devoted to aura healing.

Weiss eagerly flipped through the book to the section and began reading through. It appeared that there was actually very little research into the healing aspect of aura, the book attributing this to being difficult to observe under controlled conditions without deliberately injuring the subject. That would certainly explain why none of the other books had more than a passing mention. The passage further spoke of how aura healing was passive but could be stimulated by concentration. Weiss skimmed through the next few pages describing the mechanism healing, accompanied by some rather graphic pictures of a cut healing over the course of a minute.

There, ‘ _healing more grievous injuries_ ’, that would be the most relevant. The sub-section was prefaced by a statement that most of the section was anecdotal, but that didn’t matter to Weiss, so she read on.

_It should be noted that through observations and measurement of the subject’s aura potency that more serious injuries such as major cuts and fractures that a subject’s aura must be above a certain potency to jump start the healing process._

Well, Weiss supposed that amputation counted as a ‘more serious injury’ and she’d heard from Goodwitch herself that her aura was rather potent.

_However, this healing process also consumes a large quantity of aura which would burn through the subject’s aura reserves almost immediately. Fortunately the body seems to have a fail-safe, instead having the aura be consumed slowly over a long period of time, reducing the subject’s maximum aura capacity for the duration._

This all matched with what Professor Goodwitch had said. But still nothing on regrowing limbs.

_It has been observed that a subject’s aura potency and aura reserves are usually inversely proportional. However, outliers do exist, with subjects with both low aura potency and low maximum aura capacity occurring more frequently than those with both high potency and capacity. It is in this last group that the most difficult to prove and outlandish occurrence has been said to occur: regeneration of lost limbs._

Weiss’ eyes grew wide, this must be it. She read on eagerly.

_The regeneration of lost limbs has been observed and proven to occur in Faunus, particularly those with lizard traits._

Interesting, but the chapter continued.

_It has been reported that certain hunters and huntresses with both high potency and capacity who had lost a body part had experienced a full recovery of the lost part. The only truly reliable account of this is a video recording of a huntress who lost her index finger and had it regrow over the course of a week. Owing to the rarity of suitable subjects and the nature of the experiments that would be required, proving this phenomenon may prove impossible._

Weiss set the book down and thought hard. The passage did not paint a happy picture for Weiss. It seemed to indicate that her regrowing wings were indeed severely affecting her aura. She could only imagine the problems this could cause for her future career as a huntress only having full aura capacity for a short time each month.

Wait, her wings had been growing back faster in more recent years, the book hadn’t mentioned anything about that. She flipped back through the chapter, nothing. Weiss grabbed a nearby piece of paper and pencil and began scrawling out what she could remember. Last time her wings had regrown in a month and the time before that three months. Weiss dropped the pencil in horror, looking at the numbers. If her prediction was correct, her wings would soon be growing back within a day of removing them.

No, it couldn’t, this was too far-fetched. Clearly this book was wrong about limb regeneration. It had said itself that it was purely anecdotal evidence and unverified.

There must be another reason, there had to be. Otherwise… Weiss shook her head violently. That couldn’t be an option, no matter how bad it got, it couldn’t. The book! The book had said limb regrowth had been reliably observed in Faunus. That must be it. Admittedly Weiss knew woefully little about Faunus biology, or really anything about Faunus. Father had forbidden questions on the subject and the manor library had been woefully inadequate.

Hopping up, Weiss darted over to the biology section and perused the titles. There, Faunus biology. Weiss snatched the book from the shelf and headed back to her table. She opened it up and frantically scanned through, looking for anything related to limb regrowth.

Nothing.

Biting back a screech of frustration, Weiss strode back over to the shelves and grabbed the next book she saw about the Faunus.

Still nothing.

Weiss was getting worried now, the next book, nothing. And the next. None of the books had anything.

No, she wouldn’t admit defeat. She was Weiss Schnee damn it, she wouldn’t be beaten by some books. Weiss racked her brains, surely there must be some other source she could use. She dismissed using the internet, too unreliable. Not to mention her only easy connection was on her scroll which her Father paid for and she didn’t want him seeing what she was researching.

Then it hit her. It had been staring her in the face the entire time wearing a black bow. Where better to learn more about Faunus biology than an actual Faunus?

Marking her place in the aura book, Weiss took it over to the librarian to check out and left for dinner.

* * *

 

“Hey Weiss!” Ruby called out, waving frantically when she saw Weiss enter the dining hall. Weiss acknowledged her with a more subdued wave and proceeded over to the side, collecting a plate of steamed salmon. Weiss sat down stiffly next to Ruby and opposite Blake.

“Good evening Ruby, Blake, Yang.” Weiss picked up her fork and began poking at the salmon.

“You alright? You seem a bit off ice queen.” Yang mumbled around a mouth of noodles.

“I’m fine and don’t talk with your mouth full.” Weiss snapped back.

“It’s not about that fight with Cardin is it? ‘Cause if it is I’ll totally kick his butt and break his legs for you!” Ruby piped up, glaring over at the boy in question. It seemed Cardin had been invigorated by his victory, he’d eased off on his antics after his humiliation at the hands of Jaune in Forever Fall, but more recently had been getting braver and this new triumph only fuelled this.

“No, that won’t be necessary, thank you Ruby.” Weiss felt her cheeks warm slightly at the thought of Ruby defending her honour like that. “I just have a lot on my mind, research I need to do.” Weiss popped a piece of fish into her mouth. “Actually Blake, I wanted to speak with you about it later, if that’s alright?” The girl paused, tuna pasta laden fork halfway to her mouth.

“Sure.” Blake returned to her pasta.

“Well, if you’re sure you’re okay…” Ruby’s eyes narrowed in suspicion before immediately perking up. “Oh oh, I know what! We can play Remnant: the Game later!”

“Ruby, I know for a fact you haven’t even started that essay on the applications of gravity dust that’s due tomorrow. After Blake and I have finished, you and I are going straight to the library and you are going to write that essay or so help me I will confiscate and hide all your cookies for a month. Including the fancy ones with the chocolate chips.” Weiss scolded, glaring at Ruby who shrank down in her seat.

“Yes Weiss.” She squeaked, terrified. Not the cookies! Anything but that!

“Good.” Weiss turned back to face the table and continued with her salmon.

* * *

 

“What is it you wanted to talk about?” Weiss and Blake sat opposite each other on their bunks. Weiss had forced Ruby to head down to the library to wait for her and Yang had gone to do, something… Quite frankly, the less Weiss knew about some of the blonde’s activities, the better she thought.

“I…” Weiss struggled, how did she ask this without being offensive? “I have some questions and I feel you are uniquely placed to be able to answer them.” She stalled, desperately trying to formulate an appropriate question.

“I think I know what you want to know about.” Blake interrupted Weiss’ mental flailing. “You want to ask me something about Faunus right?” Weiss nodded awkwardly. “So why ask me? I’m sure the library has books that would help.” Blake’s head tilted in slight confusion.

“I did try the library at first. But they didn’t have any books with satisfactory answers.” Mostly true, the books had had some relevant information. Just not what she really needed to know and Weiss knew she could jump right in with those questions. Blake seemed far more observant than Yang or Ruby and would most certainly get suspicious. “And I hoped you might be able to help, if you’re okay with that?”

Blake sighed in resignation. “You know I’m not some endless fount of knowledge regarding the Faunus right? Never mind, what did you want to know?” Weiss shuffled forward eagerly.

“How are Faunus different from humans? I mean, I know about the night vision and the animal trait, but I wondered whether there was anything else.”

“Not really, I suppose the heighted senses from traits could count.” Blake tapped her chin, considering.

“You mean all Faunus have heightened senses?” Weiss had never noticed having better hearing or anything like that, maybe it was one of those things where without a point of reference you just accept something as normal. Weiss definitely had experience with that.

“No, no. Nothing like that.” Blake frowned, finger still tapping. “I have better hearing than most people because of my ears.” She wiggled them for effect. “And I know other Faunus with ears also have very sensitive hearing, it’s not something all Faunus have.”

Weiss affected a look of contemplation. “Right… So, kind of related to your ears. What is it that determines your trait?”

“Oh, well that depends on your parents.” Blake scratched at her ears. “Traits themselves are random as far as I know, but the animal the trait comes from is usually inherited.”

“Inherited? Being a Faunus is hereditary, like a recessive gene?” Weiss jumped on this, it had been itching at the back of her mind.

“Not exactly, you can’t be a Faunus unless one of your parents is.” Weiss’ heart sank. “Faunus-human couples can have human children, but those children can’t be Faunus because of it. You look… disappointed by that.” Blake’s eyes narrowed, Weiss’ dejection must’ve been evident on her face as she once again was forced to control her emotions. She was getting worse and worse at keeping the mask in place.

“It’s nothing, I had just one last question.” She pressed on, trying to distract Blake. If the dark girl had noticed the blatant attempt, she at least had the grace not to mention it. “Your trait, it’s still protected by aura yes?” Blake nodded curiously. “I wondered what would happen if something were to happen like if it got…” Weiss shuffled awkwardly, why did this have to be so difficult? But she needed to know. “If it got cut off.”

Blake’s ears flattened against her head and she flinched back, hand twitching towards her head. “Weiss! How… How could you ask something like that?!”

Weiss’ arms flailed “Sorry! Sorry!” She blinked in utter confusion. “Please I don’t want to upset you. I should just go.” Weiss stood and made hurriedly for the door.

“No, Weiss you don’t need to go.” Blake let out a long sigh. “It’s just, it was a big thing, a few years ago, for anti-Faunus gangs. If they caught someone, to  _remove_ … their trait.” Blake spat out the last words like poison. Weiss froze, horrified, mouth agape as she turned to stare at Blake.

“Oh gods.” She barely whispered. “Oh Blake, I am so, so sorry. I had no idea, and I just asked something like that and I was so horrible before and now this.”

Weiss began pacing, hands tangling in her hair. She could feel the muscles in her back flexing. How could she have failed so badly, on the same day?

 Breath, rasping. Eyes, stinging. Ears, buzzing. Sound, other sound. Someone talking. Blake. No, no, no. Blake couldn’t see her like this. She ran for the door. Out, leave, run, fly. Black, blocking path. Need to fly, need to leave. Hands clamped firm on shoulders.

“Weiss, please listen to me. Try to calm down. Just take deep breaths. In and out.” Couldn’t fly, so she listened. Felt her breath easing, heartbeat slowing. She could hear Blake still talking. “That’s it, nice and calm.” Weiss’ breath was still rasping, her hands felt clammy and she could feel the sting of tears.

“I’m sorry, so sorry Blake.” She whispered, voice hoarse as Blake guided her over to her bed, gently pushing her to sit.

“It’s alright Weiss, you didn’t know. Please just keep breathing slowly.” Blake seated herself beside Weiss. “Me sitting here is alright?” Weiss nodded choppily. “Alright, you’re in no state to go out right now. I’ll send Ruby a message that you’ll be late.” Weiss breath caught.

“No, you can’t tell Ruby, please!” The pleading felt foreign to Weiss even as the words tumbled out. “She can’t know.”

Blake leant into Weiss gently. “Okay, I won’t. I’ll just tell her our talk’s taking longer than expected, alright?” Weiss nodded again, her breath evening out again.

“Could you perhaps help Ruby? I just want to sleep right now.” Her voice sounded weak, broken. “Today hasn’t been the best of days.” Blake just hummed in agreement.

“That’s fine, I’ll see to Ruby. You just get some rest.” She stood up from the bed and moved across to the door, pausing before opening it. “Weiss, I do think we need to talk about this sometime. But not now.”

Weiss heard the door click shut and felt all the tension still wound up inside slowly begin to uncoil. She let herself fall backwards onto the duvet, tears still pricking at her eyes. She’d never thought people could be that evil. But she was, she’d been doing it for years. And from what Blake said, it seemed it was permanent. Weiss felt sick, people mutilated for being different.

Her wing stubs were itching again, soon they’d be too big to sleep on. Weiss rolled onto her side and stared at the wall. She couldn’t do it again, she couldn’t. Ignoring that horrible revelation. Gods, she wished she could ignore it. If that wasn’t reason enough, her fears had been confirmed and she had no idea what to do about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Friday where I am and Friday where I'm from, so I'm posting this now before I get too busy. Also I've been sitting on this for what feels like ages. Sorry if the chapter is rather exposition heavy, I'm not all that confident I was able to express some of the background in a not so clunky way. 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	6. Chapter 6

Weiss was rather subdued the next few days, Blake too. And despite wheedling from Ruby, and Yang’s more subtle probing, neither was forthcoming about their despondency.

“Weeeeeeiiiiisssssss! Won’t you please tell us what’s wrong?” Ruby whined, hanging from her bunk. Casting a shadow over Weiss and the textbook she was reading.

“Ruby, I said nothing’s wrong. Now will you please move? You’re blocking my light.” Weiss droned, not looking up. Once again Blake and Yang had gone out for the day. Yang practically dragged Blake off, nearly as desperate as Ruby to cheer up her partner, telling the pair not to wait up for them.

“C’mon Weiss, you and Blake haven’t spoken in days. Yang and I both know something happened on Wednesday when you talked.” Ruby swung down and loomed over Weiss with what looked to be an attempt at a threatening glare. “Blake’s out right now, so you’re going to talk to me about it so you and Blake can patch things up.”

Weiss turned her baleful gaze upon the younger girl, one eyebrow raised. “I don’t know what you’re talking about so there’s nothing for us to talk about.” Ruby’s threatening façade broke at the heiress’ callous tone.

“But Weiss, you promised, we all did. We come to the team first if something’s wrong.” Her eyes sparkled with tears.

“And I’m telling you nothing’s wrong!” Weiss slammed the book shut and stood, glaring up at Ruby. What was it with people and using her own words against her? “So since nothing’s wrong I’ll…” Her voice petered out as she got a good look at Ruby’s face. “Ruby… Are, are you crying?”

“N-no.” Ruby sniffed, swiping at her face.

Weiss deflated, moving backward and toward the door. “No, not again. I did it again.” Weiss’ mumbles were barely audible. “I have to go.” Ignoring her partners calls to wait, she bolted out the door.

Weiss wasn’t properly paying attention to where she was going, left turn, up the stairs and through a lone door. Weiss found herself out on a roof, looking out over the courtyard, Beacon tower rising in the distance. She jumped as the door slammed shut behind her. She grabbed the handle and pulled, hard. The door refused to budge. Weiss dropped her head, chuckling mirthlessly.

“Of course, of course this would happen as well.” She turned and slumped down against the wall, letting her head rest against it despite its inevitable filth. She’d made Ruby cry, what kind of monster was she? She’d been progressively destroying her team and relationship with them for the last few days. It would be for the best, better to ruin things now than later. She couldn’t have a team if she needed to let her wings grow back in, perhaps Professor Ozpin would let her transfer to a single room and train alone if she presented a compelling enough case.

Like that would ever happen. She needed another solution, she had to for the sake of the company, for her future. Even at the cost of the only friends she’d ever had. Ends justify the means, that’s what father had said. Weiss hesitated at that thought.

Why was she still listening to what her father had told her? Clearly the last few weeks had proven him wrong on countless occasions. If anything, her father’s philosophy dictated she should keep removing her wings. Weiss thumped her head back against the wall, feeling her tiara dig into her scalp, eyes closed in contemplation.

Weiss’ life had become so complicated over the last week it made her head spin. Her life seemed determined to become one unfortunate circumstance after another.

Weiss groaned and opened her eyes. She was momentarily stunned by what she saw. The shattered moon, gleaming overhead as usual, but it paled in comparison to all the stars glimmering above. Weiss had never seen so many before, she’d never thought to look up at the night sky in Vale before, assuming it was just like Atlas’. Covered in clouds and smog from the dustworks and what few could be seen made faint by the ambient light.

She rose, peering up at the sky trying to pick out some of the few constellations she’d been able to see from her window. Something to remind her of simpler times. She’d gotten used to these odd moments of reminiscing and introspection the last few days, having only herself to converse with.

Weiss remembered one of the last times she’d star-gazed at home, just before her last training session with Winter before she was deployed. Winter had forced Weiss to fight an endless horde of Beowolves until she was knocked down and forced to tap out. The image was vivid in her mind, her elder sister standing tall and proud against the biting Atlesian winds, hair and coat hem billowing behind her as she told Weiss she needed be better.

Weiss’ fist clenched and she fought back tears. She thought she’d gotten stronger. How could she have been so wrong?

“WEISS?! WEISS!?” A piercingly earnest voice broke Weiss from her reverie and she span around to see Ruby barrel through the door in a swirl of rose petals. “There you are!” She dashed forward and for a moment looked as though she was going to tackle right into Weiss but caught herself at the last second. “I… uh was looking for you.”

“Evidently.” Weiss rolled her eyes

“Oh, er if you want to be left alone I can do that.” Ruby mumbled, boot scuffing the roof as she swung it back and forth.

“No, you’re here now so you might as well stay.” Weiss moved aside, towards the edge of the roof.

“Great! Oh one thing first.” Ruby darted over to the edge and peered over. “Okay, coast’s clear.” And she plonked herself down on the edge, Weiss following and settling down beside her.

“What do you mean coast’s clear?” She queried, peering over slightly as well.

“Oh, Cardin’s room is one of the one’s right below us. Jaune told me. I figured you wouldn’t want him overhearing us." Ruby's voice began to speed up. "If you actually wanted to talkthatisifyoudon’tthat’sfinewecanjustsithereand” Ruby’s ramblings were cut-off by Weiss’ hand placed over her mouth.

“Please stop babbling Ruby.” Weiss hated it when Ruby babbled, it only ever really came out when she was nervous or worried. Ruby nodded and Weiss removed her hand, shaking it discreetly to rid it of an odd tingling sensation. “I suppose I should talk, once again I’ve been a terrible teammate.” Weiss huffed out a sigh, avoiding looking at Ruby.

“Weiss, you’re not a bad teammate just because you wouldn’t talk to Blake or the rest of us. If you’d told us it was something you needed to work through on your own that would’ve been fine. But you didn’t so I kept pestering.” Ruby looked rather guilty about this. “Sorry for that, I shouldn’t have pushed you so hard.” Weiss accepted the apology with a regal nod. “But I really do think it’ll be better if you talk to us about it.”

Weiss didn’t answer for a while, she mulled it over. It felt like it was gnawing at her insides, secrets upon lies. She had no doubt it would feel so much better if she could share her thoughts. But the short-term would be so overwhelmed by the long-term impact, her status revoked, her team leaving her.

But maybe she could give Ruby a stripped down version, just the most harmless details.

“I upset Blake, I asked an inappropriate question and I may have reacted… poorly to the situation.” Weiss looked down at her hands, nervously picking at the skin on the back of her left hand. “I should apologize to Blake.”

“There’s more to it than that though, isn’t there? Otherwise you would’ve talked to Blake by now.” Ruby was unusually perceptive today.

“I… found something out, something bad. Talking with Blake confirmed it.” Weiss held up a hand to silence Ruby’s unasked question. “Please don’t ask me or Blake what it is, it’s something I’d rather keep private. But it could affect my ability to be a huntress.” Weiss flinched at Ruby’s quiet gasp.

“But Weiss, if it affects you being a huntress then surely…”

“There’s more to it than that.” Weiss interrupted Ruby. “There may be a solution to the huntress problem. But it could have serious consequences regarding my status as heiress.” She looked down at her hands again. She drawn blood and hadn’t even noticed.

Ruby reached over and gently pulled Weiss’ hands apart. “Weiss, I’m not sure what to say. I thought being a huntress so you could take over the company was your dream.”

“It is, in a way. I wanted to follow my grandfather and sister’s footsteps and become a huntress. I could drop out and still be heiress, but I’d still be nothing but my father’s pawn.” Weiss’ hand fisted in Ruby’s grip, blood still welling slightly. “If I become a huntress, I can prove to the board I’m more than capable to succeed my father and fix what he did to my family legacy. But I can’t even do that if I’m removed as heiress”

“But now you say that being heiress and a huntress are mutually exclusive?” Weiss nodded. “So what is it that you want?”

Weiss looked up into the other girl’s eyes, confused. “What I want?”

“You told me you wanted to follow in your grandfather’s footsteps, to restore the family legacy. But that all sounds like stuff you think you have to do because of duty or something like that. I want to know what Weiss wants.” Ruby looked away, guilt tracing across her face. “Do you really want to be a huntress? Or was it just a means to an end.”

“I…” Weiss paused, was being a huntress just a means to an end. Seeing Ruby honestly wanting to help people, to protect them. Surely her own goals weren’t so different. But for Ruby, being a huntress really was the end she sought. Weiss had vaguely considered in a few moments of weakness renouncing the SDC entirely and staying with Ruby as her partner.

The thought had been entirely too tempting. “I suppose I was treating it as nothing more than a means to an end.” Ruby’s face fell a bit. “But now, I’m not sure. I want to fix the SDC, before I just wanted the position and being a huntress was a way of proving myself.” Weiss shook her head. “Meeting Blake really showed me just how corrupt the SDC has become and I can’t just stand by and let the family name be besmirched like that.” Weiss sighed heavily. “I don’t know what to do now. Things have become so confusing now.” She pulled her hands away and dropped her head onto them. “What I want is secondary to all these other concerns.” Weiss voice was muffled.

Ruby just stared, then slowly moved a hand to Weiss’ back and began rubbing soothingly. Weiss stiffened at the contact briefly, before relaxing into Ruby’s calloused palm. “Weiss, it’s okay to be confused, we’re just kids.”

“Some of us more than others.” Weiss chuckled

“Maybe, but we don’t need to have everything sorted out right now.” Ruby stopped rubbing and stood up, pulling Weiss with her. “So I think you should do what feels right, if that means dropping out then that’s fine. But I don’t think you will.”

Weiss folded her arms. “And why might that be?”

“You’ll miss us too much!” Ruby’s wide grin was infectious and Weiss couldn’t help but crack a smile as well.

“I suppose I might.” She smiled and started towards door. “Shall we go back? I think Blake and Yang will be back by now and I have some things I need to say to Blake.” Weiss grasped the door handle and tugged. The door remained resolutely shut.

Eyes narrowed, she turned her frosty gaze on Ruby who squeaked in fear. “Ruby. Did you lock us out?”

“Uhhh… Maybe?” She offered up weakly. Weiss just sighed and let her head drop. “I’ll call Blake and Yang to let us back in.”

“You do that.” Weiss slumped back against the wall and gazed up as Ruby frantically fiddled with her scroll. At least it was a beautiful night for star-gazing.

* * *

 

“Blake, I need to talk to you, about Wednesday.” Blake and Yang had retrieved their errant teammates with only a modicum of tasteful mockery from Yang and some stifled snickering from Blake.

“Weiss, shouldn’t we do this another time?” Blake gestured at the sisters joining them in the dorm.

“Yeah, we can leave if you want to Weiss.” Yang moved to the door, half dragging Ruby with her.

Weiss shook her head. “No, there’s no need Yang. This shouldn’t take long” Weiss turned back to Blake. “I’m so sorry, I brought up something that really upset you and even if I didn’t know, I still hurt you. If you don’t want to be a friend anymore or be on the same team, then I accept that.”

Blake stared in bemusement at Weiss. “Don’t want to be your friend…? Weiss, what on Remnant are you talking about?”

“Isn’t that why you weren’t talking to me the last few days? Especially after I reacted so… poorly to you telling me.” Weiss cocked her head.

“Poorly? Weiss, you looked like you were having a panic attack or something. I was hesitant to talk to you because I didn’t know how to bring it up without it upsetting you.”

“You, what?” Weiss’ jaw dropped. “ _That_ was why you weren’t speaking to me. I thought I’d ruined everything.” She could feel her breath getting faster, hear the buzzing in her ears again. How could she have been so wrong? She’d been giving her team, her friends the cold shoulder over nothing. The buzzing was getting louder. She couldn’t do anything right. Everything just went wrong whenever she was involved.

Then Weiss was crushed in a warm embrace, a halo of gold cascading around her. “Woah, easy there Weiss. It’s okay, everything’s fine. Yang’s voice rumbled softly in Weiss’ ear. “Just relax.”

Yang broke the hug and held Weiss by the shoulders, lilac eyes looking sternly into ice blue. “Don’t start beating yourself up over this as well. And don’t try to deny it, I know what it looks like when someone’s shouldering far too much blame than they deserve.” Yang moved back to let Weiss see Blake. “What we’ve had is a bit of a miscommunication, okay?” Weiss and Blake nodded. “Good, now come here both of you.”

Before Blake or Weiss could react, Yang grabbed both of them in a bear hug. “Ack, Yang. Can’t. Breathe.” Blake gasped out, Weiss wriggling beside her, feet kicking uselessly in the air. After another rib-cracking minute, Yang dropped the monochrome pair who flopped to the floor gasping for air.

“Friends?” Blake managed to choke out.

“Friends.” Weiss wheezed out her agreement, feeling a lot lighter than that morning. Though she couldn’t quite silence the nagging voice at the back of her mind, telling her that even if her team's strife had been solved, it still didn’t solve the problem of what she was going to do about her wings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Friday! So that means a new chapter! Now I can go back to resisting the urge to post the entirety of the buffer I built up in preparation for the 'Real Life' of the last few weeks. 
> 
> Anyway, as always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	7. Chapter 7

It had been some weeks since Weiss and Ruby’s discussion on the roof and Weiss still hadn’t made a solid decision about her wings. Her previous conviction at never removing her wings again had somewhat faltered after the first week. Thoughts and disturbed dreams of being stripped of her position, forced to work in the dust mines and Ruby leaving her had plagued her since then. Not even her talks with Blake during their now regular trips to the café had given her any assurance either way

Not helping matters was that she’d actually been seeing the benefit of leaving her wings to regrow. She supposed that as the healing progressed, less aura was used to maintain the regrowth. Weiss had noticed she was doing better during training, her glyphs lasting just that little bit longer. Sure she’d lost another training match to Nora, but she’d managed not to beat herself up over it too much.

Alright, so she’d had a minor breakdown in the shower again, but not for nearly as long as before, so she supposed it was progress.

Her wings had grown past the point when she’d last severed them. Covered in down and several fully grown feathers. Not to mention enough movement to flap freely, Weiss had been forced to strap them down to stop herself from flaring them whenever she got agitated. She wondered how Blake was able to keep her ears so still all day, perhaps her bow kept them still for her.

The larger size of her wings did now pose a new problem Weiss had not foreseen. Namely, a sartorial problem. She’d gone through her wardrobe and had found it almost entirely comprised of backless dresses and tight-fitting bolero jackets, neither of which were particularly conducive to the concealment of what promised to be a very large pair of wings. If she decided to keep them.

Weiss had considered asking Klein to send her several of Winter’s old greatcoats she’d been so fond of, and probably still was. Unfortunately her elder sister’s style clashed with the carefully crafted image chosen for Weiss by her father, his tailors and the SDC PR department.

And so Weiss found herself sat in the dorm with several pricked fingers as she tried to follow the video tutorial she’d found on needlework and sewing.

“Goddamnit! Why must this be so infuriatingly complicated!” Weiss swore as she accidentally stabbed herself with the needle again.

“Uh, you okay there Weiss?” Yang’s voice drifted down from her bunk.

“I’m perfectly fine Yang. But this running stitch isn’t.” Weiss paused the video to give Yang her undivided attention.

“What are you doing that for anyway?”

“Well, if you must know, a few of my jackets no longer fit quite right and I thought I might be able to retailor them and save on some money.” She set aside the jacket in irritation. “Also, I thought if I could master this, I might be able to design and tailor my spring wardrobe.”

Yang snickered at this. “You have a spring wardrobe? How fancy are you?” Weiss chose to ignore Yang’s mirth at her ‘supposed’ fanciness.

“It’s not that odd to have a spring wardrobe! Besides, it looks like this idea of mine isn’t going to work if I can’t resize one measly jacket.” She heaved a great sigh. “I suppose I’ll have to hunt out a suitable boutique in Vale.” Weiss knew it was a terrible idea, but beggars trying to hide their wings can’t be choosers.

“Au contraire princess!” Yang slid off the bunk and strolled over to Weiss. “I happen to know where you can get your jackets fixed and a new wardrobe for much cheaper than one of your fancy boutiques.”

Weiss offered a hand to the blonde and was hauled to her feet. “And pray tell, where is this place?”

“Well, it’s not so much a place as it is a person. You know Coco Adel?”

“Only in passing, sunglasses, beret, looks like she’d squish you like a bug if you cross her?”

Yang nodded. “Yep, that’s her. Well, turns out not only is she a major fashionista or whatever, she designed and made most of her clothes.” Weiss had seen several of Coco’s outfits as she strolled around campus, they spoke of a talented designer. It was almost too good to be true.

“How do you know Coco? Isn’t team CFVY 2nd year?” Yang grinned

“Well, as it so happens, Coco’s partner has been struggling with history, so Blake’s been helping her and as Blakey’s partner, it means I have an in with them.” Yang’s voice was brimming with smugness.

Weiss pouted a bit at Yang’s somehow superior networking skills. “Why didn’t Blake ask me to help? She knows I have a better grade in history than her.” Yang’s smugness turned to a sheepish grin as her hand moved behind her head as it always did when she felt awkward.

“Well… Blake kinda thought that wouldn’t go so well because of certain circumstances…” Weiss could tell Yang was avoiding telling her something. Weiss quickly racked her mind, what circumstances could she mean?

Oh. Right. Coco’s partner was Velvet. Weiss’ stomach sank. Her dejection must have shown as Yang hastily began waving her arms in a panic. “But it should be fine. You’re loads better now and I’m vouching for ya so it’s all fine.” Yang sighed heavily. “Look, Blake started tutoring Velvet before the whole running away thing and well even before that happened you were kind of a bitch.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Weiss’ voice lowered dangerously, ice creeping in.

“You being mean to Ruby about the whole team leader thing rubbed Blake up the wrong way. Hell, it annoyed me loads to see you picking on my baby sis. Then there’s the whole Schnee thing and how the SDC treats the Faunus.”

“Which is my father’s doing, not mine.”

“Doesn’t change how Blake felt, and you’re still inextricably linked to the SDC. You and Blake may be friends now and she won't say this, but I know she’s having a hard time reconciling the image of the SDC with who you are.” Yang wandered over to her side of the room, leaning heavily against the bunk. “We’ve all got issues we still need to work through, but we’re not at each other’s throats anymore so we can sort this all out some time. Anyway, right now you and I are going to head over to CFVY’s dorm and sort out your tailoring problem.” Yang kicked off the beds and led the way out of the room, Weiss trailing behind.

* * *

 

Yang rapped smartly on the door, they were in a different building now. Weiss hadn’t really paid that much attention to the buildings she didn’t need to visit and had been rather surprised to learn that the dorm buildings were separated by year group. The door cracked open and a pair of deep brown eyes peeked out.

“Yang!” The door swung open fully to reveal Velvet dressed rather casually in sweats like she’d been lounging around the room all day. Which she probably had been, given it was a weekend. Her happy grin dropped a bit as she saw a nervously shuffling Weiss just behind Yang. “Oh. And Weiss.” Quickly composing herself, she returned to Yang. “What brings you here today? Can Blake not make our next study session?”

“No, no. Nothing like that Velv. Actually we’re here to see Coco, Weiss has some clothing issues.”

“Oh, I see. Well come on then.” She stepped back to allow Yang in and Weiss scuttled in after her. The room was about twice as big as their own with enough room for a small living area. A large, probably scavenged sofa sat across from a battered looking screen with a few armchairs placed around. Draped across the sofa lay Coco herself, lazily flipping through a fashion magazine.

“Hey Velvs, who is it?”

“It’s Yang, and Weiss. They wanted to talk to you.” Coco let the magazine drop and sat herself upright, gaze firmly on Weiss who shrank back a little. “I’m just going to pop out for a while, see you later.” Velvet excused herself with a wave to Yang and Coco which the fashionista returned, before returning to Weiss.

“Well, this is interesting. Come sit down.” She gestured to a couple of the armchairs which Yang happily dropped into whilst Weiss primly sat down, smoothing out her skirts. “So, what is it you wanted to talk about Weiss?” The girl started at being addressed directly.

“Oh, right. Well, rather embarrassingly some of my jackets no longer fit me and I’ve been trying to alter them myself but to no avail.” Yang stifled an amused grin as Weiss not so subtly tried to conceal the hand with the remains of needle marks on it. “In addition to this, upon examining my wardrobe I found I had no suitable attire for my spring wardrobe.”

“And so Yang told you about my amazing skills and so you’re here.” Coco finished. “Well I can almost certainly do the jackets and for a reasonable fee maybe sort out some clothing.” She leaned forward, steepling her fingers. “What I want to know, is why you came here instead of running to daddy like usual?”

“I’m sorry, but what?!” Weiss bristled as Yang couldn’t contain her giggles. “Running to daddy? Just who do you think I am?”

“You’re Weiss Schnee. Face it girl, you reek of privilege. Not as much now than at the start of the year I’ll grant. But it’s still there. Now I get to choose who I work with and part of my price is telling me why you want me instead of one of your fancy Atlesian designers.” Coco lounged back against the sofa, eyeing Weiss and doing a stellar job of ignoring Yang’s giggles.

“I see. Well if you must know, my father has a very ‘particular’ idea of what I should wear and look like. If I went to him or any designer in Atlas, it would be him who decided what I wore. I wanted to… branch out a little shall we say.”

Coco leant forward, eyes still scrutinising Weiss before delivering her summation. “So you want to stick it to your old man. I can work with that.” She side-eyed Yang. “I think you can go now Yang, something tells me the ice queen here would appreciate you not being around whilst we do this.” Yang’s chuckles finally died out.

“Alright then, see ya later Weiss.” Yang stood and trotted out the room.

 “Right, now Yang’s out the way let’s talk. I know this isn’t just about pissing off your father and frankly I don’t care. It’s your business. But if you want me to make you some clothes and those alterations, I need to know what I’m working with.” Coco glared over her sunglasses at a now squirming Weiss.

“Alright fine, I wasn’t lying about the jackets not fitting. I need them to be a lot roomier in the back without looking it as well as have them extended to at least my knees.”

The older girl nodded “Well I can see why you’d need a new spring wardrobe if you want your jackets to be that long. I haven’t seen any of your dresses that would work with that.” She pulled off her sunglasses, chewing on the arm thoughtfully. “I’m not sure about extending your current jackets, I’d much rather start from scratch.” Coco pondered for a few minutes, eying Weiss thoughtfully. “Alright, I’ll do it. A couple of stipulations first, I want creative control. Any technical constraints you have like the jacket I’ll happily work in. But the design, aesthetic, et cetera, I decide. Also, you cover the costs for materials, don’t worry I won’t go crazy with it. Oh and I’d appreciate it if in future when you have need of tailoring or clothes you come to me. Does that all sound fine?” Weiss sat back.

“I… Could I have some time to think on it?” She asked nervously.

“Sure,” Coco held out a hand. “Just pass over your scroll so I can put my number I for you. Just call when you’ve made a decision.” Coco took the proffered scroll and fiddled with it briefly before passing it back. “Oh, something I forgot to mention, I charge 700 Lien per outfit for labour costs, I’m sure you’ll find that more than reasonable.”

“Of course, thank you Coco.” Weiss stood, brushing off her skirt and made her way out of the dorm room.

* * *

 

The team RWBY dorm room had been blessedly empty when Weiss had returned, so no-one was around to question why she was taking Myrtenaster and a metal bin into the bathroom with her.

“What do I do?” She muttered to herself, staring into icy blue eyes. Predictably, her reflection didn’t answer back. Sighing deeply, she started to unwind the bindings on her torso.

As the final coil dropped to the floor, Weiss flexed and her wings flared out to their full extent. They must have been about six feet across by her reckoning. She couldn’t help but admire them, she supposed they were rather beautiful. If only they weren’t attached to her.

She couldn’t look at her reflection and see those things, instead she picked up Myrtenaster from where it lay, propped up against the sink. Still not looking, she clicked the barrel round until the fire dust chamber slid into the active position.

Of all the things to make her seriously consider removing her wings over the last few weeks, this was the big inciting incident? Buying some clothes. To Weiss, it spoke wonders of her persona if clothes were such a major thing.

But it wasn’t just clothes, she reasoned. It was a commitment. Contrary to popular belief, Weiss didn’t like wasting Lien or spending it on pointless fripperies, her grandfather didn’t build the SDC up from nothing by wasting money. Even if in the long run a few hundred lien would be hardly a dent in her account, she needed to make a decision about this. She’d been putting it off for weeks now and it wasn’t getting easier.

All this introspection was just delaying, she’d just cut them off as always and deal with it next time they grew too big. She raised Myrtenaster, feeling the fire dust catch and paused. No, she couldn’t just put the decision off again, she was still delaying, still procrastinating.

If she was going to cut them off now, it was going to be forever more.

She had to do it, for the company. As her father would say, ‘short term pain for long term gain’. Again with her father’s advice, if you could call it that. Was the man so deeply ingrained into her psyche that she’d never be free from him?

She was procrastinating again. A small, treacherous little voice inside her head questioned why, if she was so determined to cut off her wings, did she kept putting it off? Even with the blade in hand.

Two quick cuts and the decision would be made. Weiss steeled herself, raising her head to glare at her reflection swiping angrily at the tear stains she saw with her free hand. She could do this, she could do this. The glowing red blade once again raised high and came swinging down.

A horrible sound rent the bathroom air followed by a loud thump.

Weiss had fallen to her knees and her shaking hands released the blade that had impaled itself in the tiles, leaving her wings intact.

Her head dropped into her hands and began sobbing. She wasn’t strong enough, she wasn’t like grandfather, or Winter. She was sure if Winter had been in the same position she’d be able to do what needed to be done.

But she had to be weak and selfish. Wallowing in self-pity, crying half-naked on the bathroom floor. Eventually, she was able to haul herself up on the basin to look in the mirror again. Gods she was a mess, blotchy face, red eyes and she was covered in tears and mucus.

Still sniffling, Weiss vigorously scrubbed at her face, desperately trying to make herself look presentable before anyone came back. Carefully, she picked up the bandages and began the laborious process of rewrapping her wings. She’d just have to be extra careful from now on. She could make this work, make the best of a bad situation. Weiss tied off the bandages, adjusted her dress and pulled on her jacket.

She looked… acceptable. With a sharp tug, Myrtenaster was liberated from the floor, leaving a rather conspicuous gouge in the tiles. She’d have to try and come up with an explanation for that later. Snapping the blade to her hip, Weiss emerged from the bathroom to a still mercifully empty dorm.

One more thing to do to really seal the decision. Even if it was a purely symbolic gesture, she’d somehow built it up in her mind. Picking up her scroll from the bedside table, Weiss tapped out a quick message.

_I’d like to proceed with the outfit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So maybe I got a little bored and figured a mid-week release would be okay, not making any promises about this being a regular thing, we'll see how I feel next Tuesday. But you are definitely still getting the Friday chapter as usual.
> 
> For now though, as always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated


	8. Chapter 8

“What is that?” Weiss’ jaw had dropped. It had only taken Coco a few days before she called Weiss to tell her she was finished, very much surprising her as Coco hadn’t even called her to ask for measurements or, Gods forbid, asked to measure her herself. And so Weiss was stood in the middle of Team CFVY’s dorm staring at what Coco had claimed was her new outfit. But that couldn’t be right, the clothes in front of her may be in her colours of white and pale blue. But they couldn’t be for her.

They had trousers!

“Your new outfit? I think I said that already.” Coco drawled from behind Weiss.

“You can’t be serious?!” Weiss gestured wildly at the offending item of clothing. “It’s got trousers!”

“Yeah, and?” Coco sounded genuinely perplexed by this.

“Have you met me? Or even just seen me around campus? I. Don’t. Wear. Trousers!”

Coco calmly listened as Weiss launched into a rant about combat skirts, idly fiddling with her scroll until the younger girl had run out of steam. “You done? Good, my turn.” She strode past Weiss to the mannequin. “If you recall, you gave me complete creative control. You told me you needed a long jacket with a looser back, I know what your wardrobe looks like and nothing in there would fit with what you told me you needed. So I started from scratch and I think it turned out rather well, even if I do say so myself.”

Weiss did have to admit the clothes did look very nice, smartly tailored blouse, high-waisted black trousers and a long airy coat that looked like it would reach her calves. She was sure it would look absolutely amazing on someone else who was more suited to such clothes. Blake maybe or even Ruby. An image of the younger girl in a suit flashed across Weiss’ mind, bringing a brief heat to her cheeks.

Shaking her head to banish that oddly pleasant thought from her mind, Weiss turned back to Coco. “Be that as it may, I don’t think this outfit is suitable.”

“Just try it, go on. Maybe it’ll grow on you.” Coco started pulling the various items off the mannequin and handed them over to Weiss. “Bathroom’s over there.” She gestured at the door before strolling over to the sofa and dropping onto it.

Sighing deeply, Weiss took the bundle of clothing over and into the bathroom, ensuring the door was firmly locked behind her. She couldn’t believe she was about to do this. She’d never worn anything like these in her life.

Weiss shed her jacket and dress and toyed with unbinding her wings but ultimately decided against it. There’d be plenty of time for that later, after she’d practised keeping them still. The blouse was a bit of a tight fit, again her wings were getting in her way, especially with the top tucked into the trousers. The jacket on the other hand was extremely roomy, Coco seemed to have done a good job with that.

Carefully folding her clothes up and buckling her belt under the jacket, Weiss stepped back into the main room, avoiding glancing in the bathroom mirror as she went. “Well well well, you do clean up rather well don’t ya.” Coco hopped up and paced around Weiss, scrutinising her from every angle. “The fit looks good, though I thought you’d fill out the blouse a bit more.” The older girl mused, ignoring Weiss’ shriek of indignation as she continued to circle. “Yes, I think this will work perfectly. Here, see for yourself.” Coco strolled over to one of the closets and opened it, revealing a full-length mirror hanging on the back of the door.

Weiss cautiously approached, dreading what she’d see. Once again, her jaw dropped. She looked so… elegant and refined. Not that she hadn’t before, but she certainly didn’t look like her father’s delicate porcelain doll anymore. The cut of the jacket hugged her figure and made for an imposing silhouette, the red lining bringing out the cool blue of the main material and the white Schnee emblem embroidered over the left breast. Whilst the high collar brought out the sharpness in her features and scar, she wasn’t so fond of that last one.

“Get yourself a shorter haircut and you’ll have all the ladies swooning over you.” Coco had snuck up behind Weiss whilst she had been admiring herself causing her to screech and jump about a foot in the air.

“Ack! I’m not like that. I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with that.” Weiss spluttered as Coco watched, eyebrow raised.

“If you say so.” Weiss could hear the scepticism in Coco’s voice but chose to ignore it. “Anyway, why not go for a walk around campus and see what your team thinks.”

Weiss nodded. “Of course, thank you Coco. I’m sorry I was a little short with you just now.” Coco waved her off.

“Pfft, nah that’s fine. It was a fairly big change in style for you. Anyway, you know where I am if you need more. I can also modify your uniform if you need me to.” Weiss nodded regally, collected up her clothes and was about to head out when a thought struck her.

“Coco, how come you were able to get this to fit so well? You never took any measurements.” Coco just laughed.

“Oh, I never need to get people’s measurements like that. I just asked Velvet, she can tell stuff like that with just a glance.” Weiss felt a sense of unease at this, but she wasn’t quite sure why. Thanking Coco again, she left the room and headed back towards her own dorm.

* * *

 

It felt odd, striding across the courtyard in her new outfit. Anyone who knew the heiress had stopped briefly to stare as she passed and Jaune had been so distracted he’d walked right into a tree. But the strangest thing to Weiss was that it wasn’t just the boys staring at her, several girls were staring as well. She remembered what Coco had said back in the room and flushed heavily. No she definitely wasn’t like that, not on top of everything else.

“Woah, Weiss.” Weiss turned to see Yang walking up from a side path. “Is that what you got Coco to make for ya?” She whistled appreciatively. “That is definitely different.”

“Yes, said I needed a change didn’t I?” Weiss gave a small twirl, coat hem flaring out slightly.

Yang couldn’t contain her chuckles. “Oh please, this was Coco’s idea wasn’t it? You wearing trousers on your own initiative?” Weiss just scowled at this.

“Alright fine, it was Coco. But it is starting to grow on me.” Weiss conceded, examining herself again.

“Well, I think the look suits ya princess, very dapper.” Yang smirked at Weiss’ embarrassed scowl. “Oh, I just remembered what I was looking for you for! Me, Blake and Ruby are having an outdoor study session, you want to join us?” Really, it was a pointless question though, as if Weiss would turn down the opportunity to study.

“Of course, though I’m afraid I don’t have my books with me.” Yang just shrugged.

“Eh, no worries princess, you can share ours. Now come on, I want to see how Blake and Rubes react.” Yang grabbed Weiss’ arm and practically dragged her off further into the grounds.

They found Blake and Ruby sat under a tree surrounded by books and notes. Ruby scrawling away tongue stuck out in concentration whilst Blake read one of the many textbooks they’d brought.

“Hey guys, guess who I found?” Yang thrust Weiss ahead of her.

“What? Oh hey Weiss, what’s uuuu-…?” Ruby glanced up from her textbooks briefly. Then stopped, jaw dropping mid-sentence as she looked up at Weiss.

“Hey Weiss, I like the new look. Suits you.” Blake barely acknowledged Weiss’ presence as the heiress joined them on the grass, opting instead to reach out and close Ruby’s mouth.

“Thank you Blake, Coco made it for me. I thought I was in need of a change.” Weiss couldn’t help looking back at Ruby, the brunette’s cheeks colouring as she took in Weiss’ outfit.

“I-I… forgot something, a book! In the library. Yeah, gotta go get that.” Ruby rushed out, hurriedly leaping to her feet and dashing off, smacking into a tree as she went, face still as red as her cloak.

“What was that about?” Weiss asked watching Ruby’s flight. Blake just rolled her eyes and Yang stifled a laugh.

“I think Ruby’s having a bit of a crisis.” Yang managed to snort out only to have Blake slap her upside the head.

“No she is not, don’t listen to Yang.” Blake intoned, not looking up from her notes. “I’m sure she’ll come back soon.” Weiss grunted in agreement and settled down start work on a Dust Studies essay.

* * *

 

Ruby didn’t return, nor did she answer Weiss’ calls or texts. It had taken a lot of cajoling from Blake and Yang to stop Weiss from going to find her, both claiming Ruby had stuff to work out on her own. And so the study session had continued, leaving the three at their current place, approaching their dorm.

“You can’t be serious! No one likes writing essays that much.” Yang said, staring at Weiss in disbelief.

“Of course I’m serious, essays are beautiful things when properly planned and laid out. In fact, the planning is half the fun.” The smaller girl huffed, turning her nose up at her brute of a teammate who clearly didn’t enjoy the finer things in life. Blake just looked on amusedly.

“So does that mean you’d be willing to give Yang some pointers on essay planning? She’s been struggling with Goodwitch’s essay.” She impishly remarked, ignoring her partner’s splutters of protest.

“I’d be happy to, especially seeing as I finished that essay last week.” Weiss turned to face Yang, continuing to walk, backwards. “And there’ll be no copying my work, I keep it hidden away to prevent any cheating.” Yang smirked at this proclamation.

“It’s in ‘Ninjas of Love’ vol.4 at the scene where the cunning kunoichi and the golden princess declare their undying love for one another.” Yang snickered, Weiss merely gaped and Blake flushed deeply.

“Wha… How did you know that?” Weiss stammered out, beginning to blush as well.

“Easy, it’s the least likely place you’d hide anything and we both know it’s Blake’s least favourite volume.” Blake huffed in indignation at this. “Although I’m surprised you picked that part, there’s a much better bit in chapter 12 where the cunning kunoichi and golden princess are…” Yang’s soon to be incredibly lewd and detailed recounting of ‘Ninjas of Love’ was cut off by Blake’s hand slamming across her mouth.

“She doesn’t need to hear that.” Both Weiss and Blake were crimson whilst Yang shook with laughter. Then Weiss was struck with a thought.

“How come you know so much about this book then Yang?” The shudders of mirth promptly stopped and Yang too began blushing furiously. “Down to the chapter numbers as well. Has someone been indulging in some late night reading?” Weiss teased mercilessly.

Yang ducked out of Blake’s grip looking rather sulky. “Alright fine, I’ll stop.” They’d reached the dorm and Weiss swiped them in. “Seriously though, you need a better hiding spot Weiss. Oh hey Rubes!”

Sure enough, Ruby was in her bunk. Weiss thought something seemed off though, Ruby normally splayed out across her bunk whenever she was sleeping or doing something. Instead, the brunette was curled up, blankets coiled around her and her trinket pile nowhere to be seen.

“Ruby? Are you alright?” Weiss asked tentatively. No response. Yang walked over and pulled herself up to Ruby’s level.

“Hey Rubes, sis? Is it happening again?” A shuffling of blankets and what seemed to be a nod. Yang dropped back down and turned to Weiss and Blake. “Okay, can you guys do me a favour? In the common room freezer there’s two tubs of cookie dough and strawberry cheesecake ice cream, both labelled ‘Touch this and die Nora’. Could you get them and a couple of spoons please?” The monochrome pair nodded and headed out.

“What’s up with Ruby? Blake asked as they swiftly walked towards the floor’s communal area.

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen Ruby like this before. She’s had her down days but this seems particularly bad. Yang seems to know though, so I’m going to ask her. If the well-being of my partner is at stake I need to know what’s wrong.” Weiss muttered, a hint of irritation creeping into her voice as they stepped into the small kitchenette.

Sure enough they found the two tubs and snagged spoons from the drawer before heading back to the dorm room. When they got back they found the room half-dark as the curtains had been drawn and the lights turned out. Ruby and her blanket pile had migrated over to Yang’s bunk and Yang herself was seated nervously on Blake’s.

“Oh good you got it.” Yang stood and took both tubs. “Now, uh, this isn’t easy to say but uh, do you guys think you could kind of leave us alone in here for a while?”

Weiss’ eyes froze over, directing their icy glare at Yang. “I’m sorry, for a moment there I thought you were telling me to leave my obviously distressed partner alone without even attempting to help her or an explanation as to why I should leave her alone.” Yang did a remarkable job of not flinching at the heiress’ cold tone.

“Look, Weiss can you and Blake please just leave for a while.” Yang practically begged, repeatedly glancing up at her bunk and its bundled up inhabitant.

“Not without an explanation.” Weiss could feel her wings trying to flare out but settled for setting her jaw stubbornly. Meanwhile Blake just stood there, not quite willing to take a side just yet.

Yang heaved a sigh. “Weiss I’m glad you want to help my sister, but this is something you’re not really equipped to help with. Besides it’s up to Ruby if she wants to tell you or not.” Yang’s voice dropped to a whisper and she leaned in to Weiss. “And also, I think you being here is making it worse. So please, for my sister’s sake if not mine, can you and Blake leave.” Weiss deflated at this. She was making it worse, of course she was. Weiss nodded and left the room, Blake trailing uneasily behind her, looking back at Yang hoisting herself up to her bunk with the ice cream.

The moment the door clicked shut, Weiss collapsed against the wall, sliding down into a ball on the floor. All she did was make things worse, team RWBY’s personal curse. She could feel the tears forming and she tried desperately to prevent them from spilling out. That familiar buzzing was beginning again, getting louder and louder as her thoughts spiralled. Useless, made things worse, couldn’t help.

“Weiss, you don’t look so good. Come on, let’s find somewhere more private, we’re in the middle of the corridor right now.” Blake’s voice was muffled, almost drowned out by the buzz as Weiss began rocking back and forth, her head starting to knock against the wall.

This was her punishment for not removing her wings wasn’t it? She thought she could escape the pain but she’d been wrong again. There was no avoiding it, it could only be displaced and now it had returned to her tenfold because she’d managed to hurt the one person she never wanted to ever hurt again.

Weiss’ rocking sped up with the buzzing, the dull thuds of her head increasing in tempo. She deserved this, perhaps if she was in enough pain then Ruby would feel better. Weiss being hurt seemed to make her father happier, pain couldn’t be alleviated, only passed onto others.

“Weiss, stop that right now.” Something held Weiss’ head, no, she needed to do this to help Ruby. She struggled against the grip but it held firm. She opened her eyes and blinked away the blurriness to see Blake crouched in front of her. “Stand up.” Weiss dumbly obeyed the instruction and allowed Blake to lead her back to the common room they’d just raided for ice cream.

Once they were both inside, Blake sat Weiss down on the sofa and went to fiddle with the door briefly.

“There, no one should be able to bother us.” Blake sat down facing Weiss on the sofa, legs pulled up beneath her as she scrutinised the heiress. “I can’t just let this one slide Weiss, you need to tell me what’s wrong.” The white-haired girl pulled her legs up onto the sofa, wrapping her arms around her knees, not caring about the dirt that would get on the upholstery. “Is this about Yang not telling us why Ruby’s upset?”

Weiss shook her head, then mumbled out. “She said I was making things worse. That’s all I do. I wanted help, make her feel better. But I couldn’t. And now I’m here and you’re trying to comfort me again.” Her body was wracked with choked sobs. “That’s all I do. I just take and take and take. You, Ruby and Yang keep helping me and I can’t return that.”

“Oh Weiss…” Blake moved closer and gently began rubbing circles on Weiss’ back. The small girl stiffened at the contact, worried Blake might notice her now much larger wings. But the cat Faunus stuck to the small of her back and eventually Weiss relaxed into the touch.

“Weiss, you know this isn’t about owing people. We help you because we want to and you’re our friend.”

“B-but I’m your friend and I want to help, but Yang said I just made things worse.” Weiss sniffled, still curled up in her little ball of sadness.

“I know, I know. I’m going to talk to Yang later, she just had Ruby’s wellbeing on her mind. But you know sometimes even if you want to help people, sometimes you can’t.” Weiss raised her head to look at Blake incredulously, was this really supposed to be comforting? But Blake ploughed on regardless.

“Yang’s dealt with whatever this is before and I get the impression it’s something only Yang can help Ruby with for now. That doesn’t mean you wanting to help was bad, okay?” Weiss nodded hesitantly. “Also I don’t want you to keep beating yourself up over not being able to help us through things like we do for you.” Weiss hesitated before nodding again, swiping at her nose with a pristine sleeve.

“Gods, you must think I’m a mess. First the elitism and superiority complex, then the racism and now the breakdowns.” Weiss chuckled wetly. “I make for a pretty poor teammate.”

“Right, that’s got to stop soon as well. Please try to stop thinking so negatively of yourself like that, it’s not healthy. And even if you are a mess, _which you’re not,_ you’re our teammate. And teammates support each other. So I’m going to take a leaf out of Yang’s book and we’re going to eat ice-cream.” Blake stood up and walked over to the freezer, pulling out a massive tub of syrup flavour ice cream.

“Uh, isn’t that Nora’s?” Weiss queried warily.

Blake’s smile turned devious. “Yes it is. But I know how we can pin it on Cardin, I saw him picking on Velvet again today so I think he sort of deserves it.” Weiss returned the smirk.

“I don’t think anyone deserves Nora’s wrath, but until we find a better punishment, it’ll do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Friday, so time for another update! Not really much to say, except that there will be another Tuesday update.
> 
> As always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


	9. Chapter 9

The next few days seemed to pass normally, the highlight being Nora stringing Cardin up from the statue in the courtyard with ‘Ice-cream thief’ scrawled on his chest. However, Weiss did notice some changes in both Yang and Ruby’s behaviour. She would occasionally catch the sisters in mid-conversation which would immediately cease the moment they noticed her. Then there were the odd glances Yang kept throwing her way and the times she’d catch Ruby staring at her.

Perhaps most noticeable was that the normally tactile team-leader had stopped being quite so touchy. Now she was refraining from her usual tackle hugs and even the casual touches had stopped. Not that Weiss missed these or anything, she definitely wasn’t touch-starved or anything like that.

Ruby’s recent aversion to clinging onto Weiss may have been a blessing in disguise, Ruby would almost certainly notice the two large feathery appendages. The things had now grown past her hips when folded and were now too big to bind. She’d had to very quickly order several more outfits from Coco, including several new uniforms which, in keeping with Coco’s vision for Weiss new look, were the boy’s uniform just with tailored trousers and the blazers swapped for more calf length jackets.

Weiss had been forced to spend an entire evening locked in the bathroom, cutting holes in the backs of all her new shirts and blouses. Practising holding her wings still and close to her back as she did so. All the while praying Coco didn’t have some sort of sixth sense for the defilement of her clothes like Ruby did for cookies or Nora for pancakes.

Weiss had, in idle moments of weakness, considered telling someone about her wings. But that was ludicrous, if they knew then they’d hold her entire future in their hands and about the only people she trusted with that were her team, who’d certainly leave her for lying to them and committing gross hypocrisy. She may have begrudgingly accepted the wings as part of herself, she was a Faunus and there was no changing that, but that didn’t mean she was going to be out and proud about it. Her best friend was practically the poster child for a Faunus disguised as human.

Said best friend who had just dumped several history books on the library table they were sharing, breaking Weiss out of her introspective reverie.

“Thanks for helping me with this Weiss, sometimes I find the historic trade agreements rather hard to understand.” The heiress smirked and tossed her hair in what she hoped wasn’t too smug of a gesture.

“It’s fine, really. When you’re groomed to be a CEO from a young age, trade agreements become rather simple after a while.”

“I’m sure they do.” Blake chuckled before looking down at her notes, guilt tracing across her face. “Uh, Weiss I hope this is okay with you but I kind of invited someone else to join us.

Weiss looked up perplexed. “Why wouldn’t it be okay with me?”

“Well, I figured because I didn’t ask you and how much you like your day to be organised…” Blake slipped into that tone so familiar on Ruby when she began rambling.

“Blake stop, just tell me why you thought I’d be upset.” The black haired girl gnawed at her lip anxiously. Finally she opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a call from across the library followed by a chorus of shushes.

“Hi Blake! Hope I’m not too late!” Of course. Weiss turned around to see Velvet trotting over, looking rather sheepish as several other library patrons glared at her. “Oh, hello Weiss, I didn’t know you’d be here as well.”

Weiss had encountered Velvet on one or two of the occasions she’d visited team CFVY’s dorm to collect clothes, but the rabbit eared girl had always made herself scarce the moment she got the chance. Honestly, it stung Weiss a little that her family’s reputation still loomed over her.

“Hey Velvet, you’re not late. We only really just started ourselves.” Blake gestured to the chair beside her for Velvet to take which she did, eyeing Weiss warily. “I asked Weiss to help us. I thought that since she’s top of the class…”

Blake let the sentence trail off as she looked meaningfully at Weiss who started. “Oh yes, right. Hello Velvet. So what was it you needed help with?” The brunette’s ears drooped and she looked rather embarrassed.

“Go on, tell her. It’s alright.” Blake quietly encouraged her friend. Hesitantly, Velvet began.

“Well, it’s everything really. I just can’t seem to remember any of the dates or battles or anything.” She moaned and dropped her head into her hands. “I’m going to fail the end of semester exams, I know it.”

“Alright, it’s okay.” Weiss briefly considered reaching out and patting Velvet on the arm, but decided against it. “Let’s just start with this essay on the Mantle-Mistral trade alliances.” Weiss shuffled her notes and passed a few pages over. “These should help, also this book and this one and this one.” She followed up the pages with a few of the books Blake had brought back.

Weiss turned back to her half-written essay when she was interrupted by a scroll buzzing. She glared at the offending person as Blake mouthed apologies, pulling the device out and reading the message.

She groaned in exasperation. “Sorry, I need to deal with this. Ruby saw a spider and got scared so Yang put her fist through it. And the wall. So now she’s stuck.” She got to her feet. “I’ll be back in a bit.” As she was about to leave, Weiss grabbed her wrist and gave Blake her best ‘please don’t leave me’ look. A look that was promptly ignored as Blake strode out of the room.

The heiress sighed deeply, then caught herself and looked guiltily over at Velvet. The other girl looked absolutely petrified.

“Alright, now you’ve read the notes do you know where to start?” The brunette shook her head vigorously. “That’s fine. I like to start by working out the point I want to make then planning out the topics I need to cover to support it. Like this.”

What followed was an enjoyable hour of Weiss helping Velvet plan out and structure her essay as well as how to find the useful information in the books and notes.

“Thanks so much for helping with this Weiss.” Velvet said, for the eighth time, the shy girl had finally relaxed and was surprisingly animated when she got going.

Weiss sighed in amusement. “I already told you Velvet, it’s my pleasure and I’m glad I could help.” She paused, considering. Should she ask her, would it be prying too much? Weiss steeled herself, she wanted to know. “Velvet.”

“Yes Weiss?” The other girl wasn’t really paying that much attention, having returned to her essay. Nevertheless, Weiss ploughed on.

“Why is it that you keep avoiding me?” Velvet’s pen ceased its scratching. “Whenever I’m at your dorm to talk to Coco, you leave as soon as you can.” The rabbit Faunus studiously avoided Weiss’ gaze as she set her pen down and drew a deep breath.

“I suppose you’re aware of your family’s company’s business practices regarding my people.” Weiss scowled and looked away. She knew it, the dark cloud of father’s reputation still hung over her. “But I’m not naïve, I know you have nothing to do with the management of the SDC.” This puzzled Weiss.

“Then why?”

“Because Blake told me about you and how I should stay away from you.” It felt like a knife had been stabbed into Weiss’ heart and was slowly twisting. Blake had done that to her, but why? They were friends now. Velvet continued, not noticing Weiss’ internal turmoil. “She told me soon after she started tutoring me. We both know Blake’s not particularly trusting at times and can be blinded by the injustices we’ve had to suffer.” Weiss nodded along dumbly.

“If you know that then why listen to her?” Velvet fixed Weiss with a slightly scathing look, mixed with… pity? Or was it sympathy? Weiss really needed something like flashcards for that.

“We share a class, Weiss, and I trust Blake. I had no reason to disbelieve her then.” Velvet broke eye contact, fidgeting a bit. “I actually think Blake set this up on purpose.” That did sound like Blake, Weiss thought. The girl really did think like a romance novel at times. The secret set-up sounded exactly like something out of ‘Ninjas of Love’ vol. 2.

Hold on, if this was a set-up from ‘Ninjas of Love’ then did that mean Blake thought…? Weiss shook her head vigorously. No that can’t be right, Blake wouldn’t think that, it was ridiculous. Moving past the worrying implications of Blake’s imagination, Weiss turned her attention back to Velvet.

“And what about now, after we’ve spent this time together?”

Velvet blinked carefully, scrutinising Weiss. “I think that when you spend a lot of time with hateful people it’s easier to be like them rather than yourself, even when it’s you they hate.” Weiss cocked her head in puzzlement. What on Remnant did Velvet mean? Weiss was about to question her on the rather cryptic statement when she continued. “I suppose you haven’t had much experience with Faunus beyond what you’ve been told about us have you?” Weiss flushed at this, shaking her head.

“I never actually met a Faunus before I came to Beacon.” Velvet looked surprised by this.

“Really? That’s odd, my aunt used to tell me about this regular order for the Schnee Mansion that was always picked up by a Faunus.” She shrugged. “Maybe you just never saw him.”

“Maybe…” Weiss turned this new information over in her mind. She thought she knew all the household staff, it was the lady’s job to after all, and she could swear there were no Faunus. Besides, father would never allow it. “So, do you think you’ve got enough of a start to finish the essay now?”

If Velvet noticed the sudden and awkward change of subject, which she certainly did, she was good enough not to call attention to it. “Oh yes, thanks again Weiss.” She checked her scroll, packing up her things. “I need to go, I’m meeting Coco for dinner.” Velvet slung her bag over her shoulders and started leaving, “See you Weiss!” and bounded off to the exit.

Weiss took the opportunity whilst she was alone to adjust her seat. Her wings really made sitting down a pain, sleeping too. She’d needed to buy a sleeping robe to ensure they were covered as she went to bed. It wouldn’t be quite so bad if all her teammates were human, but of course Blake had to sleep directly opposite her.

“Have a good study session?” Weiss squawked in surprise, speak of the devil. Blake slid into the seat beside Weiss, arm propping up her head as a lazy smirk rolled across her lips.

“Blake! What have I told you about sneaking up on me like that?” Weiss whisper-shouted, crossing her arms in what she was convinced was an annoyed expression, but Ruby had said looked like an irritated hamster.

“That I should keep doing it because it’s fun and makes you make those hilarious noises?” The black haired girl snickered. “Sorry for ditching you and Velvet like that.”

“Yes, and what exactly was that Miss Belladonna?” Weiss scowled at Blake’s innocent smile. “Don’t give me that, we both know getting Yang unstuck would take you five minutes at most.”

Blake raised her hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, you got me. It’s like Velvet said, I told her to avoid you and I felt bad about it so I set this up. It worked didn’t it? You two are friends now.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call us friends yet, more like acquaintances.” Blake conceded the point with a nod.

“Regardless, you’re talking to each other and Velvet knows that you’re not the evil racist princess I made you out to be.”

Weiss shook her head. “I wouldn’t go quite as far as evil, but you weren’t wrong about the racist princess part.” She sighed, looking away. “I’ve had to unlearn so much of what father taught me. I’m not even sure where he ends and I begin.”

Weiss left hand clenched under the desk, she felt the sharp bite of nails into the palm of her hand. “Sometimes I hear him, in the back of my mind, reciting his mantras.” Weiss looked Blake dead in the eyes. “I know you said I’m not a mess, but does a stable person break down sobbing every few days? Do they hurt and push away their friends?” Do they spend almost half their life mutilating themselves? The last question goes unasked, Weiss already knows the answer.

Blake hesitated, before she spoke, each word sounding very carefully selected. “When I said you weren’t a mess, I was scared, Weiss. You were hurting yourself and I just said whatever I thought would make you stop and keep you safe then.” Blake looked incredibly guilty at this admission but kept going. “I really don’t want you to take this the wrong way. But if you really do feel like this, you should probably get help, professional help.” The heiress scoffed at this.

“Oh yes, I’m sure that’ll look good to the press. ‘Heiress to the Schnee Corporation: raving lunatic’!”

“You know you could just see the counsellors here at Beacon, no need for anyone from outside.”

“Beacon has counsellors?” Weiss had never heard of this before, Blake just gave Weiss a mildly withering look.

“We’re training to fight monsters Weiss, we’re frequently put in incredibly stressful situations. It would vastly irresponsible if they didn’t offer counselling services.” She leaned back to look around and check they were alone. “I’ve been a few times, just to talk about stuff. It helps to get it off your chest, not having to carry all of the burden by yourself.”

Blake stood up, stretching out. “Maybe just go for a session, just to talk, tell them what’s bothering you. I’m sure you’ll feel better afterwards.” Weiss stood as well, collecting up their books. “Let’s head for dinner, Yang and Ruby are waiting and there’s a tuna casserole with my name on it.” Weiss trailed after Blake, mulling over her words as they went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Another mid-week chapter, which I will be continuing with for the foreseeable future. Other than that, not much to say, things are headed back towards canon events soon so that'll be fun.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	10. Chapter 10

Weiss had little time to ponder Blake’s advice after that day. The end of semester exams were in two weeks and Weiss had taken it upon herself to inflict her strict revision regime upon the rest of the team. Surprisingly there was very little opposition to this plan and so Weiss had dutifully dragged the others to the library each evening with only token resistance.

After a long week of essay writing, the final exam was Professor Goodwitch’s practical. The task seemed simple enough, partners track down a specially marked Grimm in the Emerald Forest and dispatch it, as well as any other Grimm along the way.

Thus Weiss found herself trudging along through forest, hauling a very uncomfortable rucksack of camping supplies, following Ruby’s lead as the leader whistled a jaunty tune. Weiss had been rather embarrassed that she had next to no tracking skills, her tutors had neglected to mention finding the Grimm was an important part of being a huntress. It was incredibly fortunate then for Weiss that Ruby seemed to be some kind of tracking savant, amongst her other many talents.

They’d been assigned an Alpha Beowulf as their target and Ruby had been following the pack’s trail for over four hours by now. Weiss’ nerves were already grating, four hours out in this forest trying to find this wretched Grimm. Also, perhaps even more frustrating to Weiss, somehow Ruby still seemed to be avoiding her.

In short, Weiss was hot, sweaty and very pissed off.

“How far can these Grimm be!?” Weiss moaned as she stumbled over another branch.

“Weiss, weren’t you paying attention during Grimm Studies? Professor Port said a Beowulf pack’s territory could easily cover 50 square miles.” Weiss just groaned in response. Of course she’d paid attention, she’d just been trying to ignore the fact that they could be out here for days. In close proximity to each other, maybe needing to share a sleeping bag for warmth now that winter was setting in.

Weiss flushed deeply at that thought and then violently discarded it, no it couldn’t happen. Not without revealing her wings. They’d almost fully-grown, Weiss reckoned, the tips brushing the back of her knees and were now almost impossible to hide. It took so much careful manoeuvring in the evening to make sure the others didn’t see.

Again, that treacherous voice whispered at the back of Weiss’ mind, why shouldn’t she tell Ruby and the others? They were friends, they’d understand.

But friends don’t lie to each other, they don’t hide something this big. Blake had and look what had happened. This was _so_ much worse than that.

“Weiss, your head’s in the clouds.” Ruby’s sharp hiss broke Weiss out of her reverie, she hadn’t noticed Ruby pause and draw Crescent Rose. She hurriedly did the same with Myrtenaster, readying the blade. “We’ve got company.”

As soon as the words left Ruby’s mouth, Weiss heard the low, rumbling growl. An Ursa Major lumbered out of the trees, eyeing up the pair of them.

“I’ve got this.” Ruby didn’t listen to Weiss’ cries to wait as she launched herself at the Ursa, her scythe’s momentum propelling her forward in a spin bringing the blade down and slamming into the Ursa’s thick hide but failing to pierce it. Ruby eeped in surprise, quickly pulling the trigger, sending her flying backwards away from the Ursa’s retaliatory strike.

“You dolt! Don’t you remember Ursa Major’s hides are too thick to just slice like that?” Weiss reprimanded, skating over to Ruby.

“Eheheh, I forgot.” Ruby shrugged sheepishly before returning her attention to the Ursa now lumbering towards them at speed. “Do you know what will get through?” The pair split off either side as the beast came barrelling between them, Weiss stumbling slightly as she went.

“Since we don’t have Yang here, fire dust should weaken it. Just stay clear this time.”  Catching herself quickly, Weiss span Myrtenaster’s barrel, locking in the fire dust chamber. She felt the fire dust catch and channelled it up the blade. Quickly checking Ruby wasn’t in the way, Weiss thrust the blade forward feeling the flames explode forward into the side of the Ursa, which roared in pain.

“Now!” Ruby took the cue, launching herself forward again, bringing Crescent Rose around in a devastating arc, cleanly slicing off the Ursa’s left arm. Twisting the deadly weapon, Ruby swung the blade up, severing the other arm and letting the snaith swing round flush against her back.

Weiss was enthralled, Ruby looked almost radiant as she danced, the heavy scythe seemingly weightless in her hands. With a loud bang, the recoiling weapon span back around, Ruby following with the turn and cleaved the head off of the Ursa and Ruby landed smoothly in a crouch.

Grinning, Ruby looked up at Weiss, and her face filled with horror. Weiss heard the enraged roar from behind her and span around to see another Ursa rearing up, massive claws raised and swinging down towards her. She tried to bring Myrtenaster up to block, but she already knew it would be too slow.

“Weiss!” Red filled Weiss’ vision as Ruby blurred into existence between her and the Ursa. The claw slammed into Ruby’s side, sending her crashing into Weiss and the pair of them flying across the small clearing. Ruby smashed into a tree and crumpled to the ground at its foot. Weiss landed well but overbalanced and went tumbling across the ground, Myrtenaster was wrenched from her grip as she came to a stop beside Ruby.

Groggily, Weiss pulled herself up, the contents of her bag had spilled out around them. Ruby lay motionless, groaning quietly, which was drowned out by the roar of triumph from the Ursa. Weiss looked back to face it, saw it pawing the ground ready to charge.

“Ruby! Get up!” Weiss tugged at the girl, only to be met with more groaning. She needed Myrtenaster, but it was nowhere to be seen. She heard the thumping as the Ursa began its charge towards them. Weiss blindly scrabbled around, hoping to miraculously find her sword. She turned back and the Ursa was almost right on top of them.

She felt something cold and cylindrical, Weiss grabbed it and brought it up, eyes closed, desperately hoping as she channelled her aura.

The roar of the Ursa was suddenly drowned out by an even louder sound, right in front of Weiss. She wasn’t dead yet. Weiss cracked open her eyes and was stunned. A burning red glyph hung in the air in front of her, spewing flames and holding the Ursa at bay, now howling in pain as the fire burnt away at the foul creature. Slowly Weiss rose to her feet, she could feel her aura powering through her arm as she concentrated on the glyph in front of her. The flames burned brighter, completely engulfing the Ursa, its silhouette just visible through the blaze before it just seemed to evaporate.

Weiss relaxed her arms and the glyph faded away revealing nothing but a heavily scorched patch of grass and no trace of the Ursa. Weiss was in shock, had she just completely incinerated an Ursa? She felt the cylinder in her hand and she quickly looked at it. It wasn’t Myrtenaster, it was a small vial of Fire Dust that had broken slightly at the top and was leaking its contents. About half the vial was gone, used up by Weiss’ blaze.

Weiss was even more stunned, she’d never been able to summon her glyphs without the aid of Myrtenaster before, let alone channel dust directly. Weiss gaped for a moment and then remembered.

“Ruby!” Weiss ran and dropped to her knees, ignoring a burst of dizziness, and picked up the head of her fallen leader. Ruby moaned, she looked barely conscious and Weiss could feel the lump on the back of her head. Aura was great for protecting against cutting, less good against blunt force trauma as the force was transferred directly through.

Weiss struggled to think, what should she do? She could activate the emergency flare and have them get picked up. But then they’d fail the exam. The mere thought horrified Weiss. Ruby’s head wound didn’t look to bad, she wasn’t even bleeding. Maybe some rest was all she needed, yes.

Weiss hurriedly gathered up their fallen equipment and found Myrtenaster. Then, cursing her lack of muscle in her arms, she hoisted Ruby up into her arms and tottered off into the woods. They’d passed a cave not too long ago that looked deserted and not too deep. If only Weiss could remember exactly where it was.

Dusk was falling fast when Weiss finally found the cave. Huffing and puffing she set Ruby down and dropped the bag of equipment. After resting for a moment, Weiss set about piling some rocks to make a small fire pit. Thankfully some basic survival skills were taught at Beacon, even if tracking wasn’t.

Soon enough Weiss had a fire going as she laid out her and Ruby’s bedrolls. Ruby was still mostly unconscious, occasionally waking up just enough to moan before slipping back into sleep. Weiss was posed with a dilemma, since Ruby was out of commission, they couldn’t set up a proper watch and Weiss couldn’t very well stay up all night. Careful to avoid disturbing Ruby, Weiss drew Myrtenaster and stepped over to the mouth of the cave. Flicking the Earth Dust chamber to the active position, she channelled her aura through the blade and stabbed it down into the dirt. All at once, the ground rumbled and a wall of stone rose up, covering the entrance save for a small hole for ventilation.

Satisfied with her work, Weiss walked back over to where Ruby lay, covered by blankets, and sat herself down beside her team leader. Weiss again checked on Ruby’s state, still out of it.

An idea struck Weiss as she sat there, contemplating her teammate. A terrible, definitely bad idea. But Ruby was unconscious and she’d never had the chance before. Hesitantly, Weiss shrugged off her coat, flexing and letting her wings flare out after having been cooped up for hours. It felt so good to spread her wings, Weiss marvelled at the sensations as she stretched them out to their full length. Each wing must be as long as she was tall, white feathers fading to black at the tips and along the bottom edge. She gave them a few more experimental flaps before letting them settle into a more relaxed position.

Once again Weiss contemplated how beautiful they were, if only they weren’t attached to her of all people.

“Weiss…?” The girl in question jumped and looked down at her younger companion. Her eyes were still closed as she continued mumble incoherently. Ruby appeared to be shivering, despite her proximity to the fire. Weiss herself didn’t feel it, but then again, the cold never bothered her anyway. Her attempts to stoke the fire and coax some more heat out of it yielded no results as Ruby kept shivering. Weiss thought back to the survival lessons, how did you stay warm at night? Fire: check. Blankets: check. What else was the- Oh. Weiss remembered her thoughts from earlier that day. Her face turned almost as red as Ruby’s cloak as she contemplated it.

Then, slowly, carefully, Weiss lifted the blankets covering Ruby and slid down beside her. Just conserving body heat, that’s all. She settled herself facing Ruby and gingerly let her wing rest over the sleeping girl’s body before pulling the blankets back over them.

Weiss now had an up close and personal view of Ruby’s sleeping face, watching a lock of hair flutter as she breathed softly. Ruby had ceased her shivers and, rather awkwardly for Weiss, snuggled up closer to the now petrified heiress.

It took another five minutes for Weiss to relax again, desperately trying to ignore the strange tingling sensations wherever she was touching Ruby. Weiss had mild regrets about choosing her sleeping position to face Ruby, though she supposed there were worse things she could be looking at as she fell asleep.

The firelight playing across her soft features, it mildly irked Weiss that Ruby had such good skin, she never got spots and unlike Weiss, didn’t follow a rigorous skincare routine. Weiss’ eyes eventually came to rest on Ruby’s lips, why on Remnant was she staring at Ruby’s lips? It must be because they’re in such a dreadful state, all chapped from Ruby gnawing at them all day. Yes, definitely not because they look incredibly soft and pink. Weiss closed her eyes firmly, bad Weiss. No looking at Ruby, no more staring at your sleeping partner like some creep. Slowly Weiss relaxed into the embrace of sleep.

* * *

 

“Weiss…?” A sleepy mumble from just in front of Weiss’ face woke her from her slumber. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, Weiss found herself in the rather awkward position of having moved in the night and was now spooning Ruby from behind, wing still draped over the younger girl. The younger girl was mumbling and waking up.

No, no, no. This was bad. Weiss quickly extricated herself from the sleeping roll and hurriedly snatched up her coat. The sudden jostling seemed to have been enough to fully wake up Ruby, who sat up groggily and looked around the darkened cave.

“Weiss? Are you there?” Weiss ceased her frantic struggles with her coat. She’d completely forgotten, Ruby didn’t have night vision. Carefully making sure she was positioned in the shadows correctly she called back to Ruby.

“I’m here, Ruby.” Her head turned blindly to face Weiss, eyes bleary as she tried to focus in the dark.

“Where are we? Last thing I remember is an Ursa hitting me.”

“The Ursa knocked you out, we’re in that cave we passed before. I didn’t want to call in for help, I thought you’d be able to sleep off the injury and your aura would do the trick.” Weiss slowly pulled on her coat and moved closer so Ruby could make her out clearly.

“Oh! So you were the angel!”

Weiss’ blood froze. “I’m sorry, angel?” She tried to marshal her tone, but anxiety still slipped in.

“Oh, I dreamt I was saved by an angel who carried me to safety and uh…” Ruby turned bright red. “We shared a bed.”

“It was to conserve heat!” Weiss quickly shouted, hands waving frantically, deep blush spreading over her cheeks as well.

“What?! You mean that actually happened?” Ruby squeaked, looking absolutely terrified. “Everything was normal right? Just two normal girls sharing a bed to conserve heat?”

“Yes, of course. Two perfectly ordinary girls sharing a bed.” Weiss replied hastily, surreptitiously checking her coat. “Why, was there something wrong?”

“Oh no, it’s nothing.” Ruby pulled herself up and started packing up their equipment, fumbling in the dark. “We should get going, Grimm to kill and all that.” She studiously avoided looking at Weiss, still sounding nervous.

“Ruby, does it make you uncomfortable that we shared the bed last night?” Weiss’ left hand moved up to hold her bicep, as she looked away. Ruby froze in her packing.

“I-I, no…” She answered, still avoiding Weiss’ gaze.

“It’s just, these last couple of weeks it feels like you’ve been avoiding me. Normally I can’t seem to go five minutes without you hugging me, but now you won’t even look at me. Did I do something wrong?” A soft buzz was beginning in Weiss’ ears.

“Weiss, I didn’t think you’d notice.” Ruby was still concentrating firmly on packing the rucksack. “Yang and I had a talk and she pointed out that not everyone’s so comfortable with me hugging them and stuff. So I thought I’d roll it back, I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything.” Something sounded off in Ruby’s voice, but Weiss pushed away the doubt.

“I actually kind of miss it.” Weiss admitted, she felt the heat rising in her cheeks and was incredibly thankful that Ruby couldn’t see in the dark.

“You-you do?” The younger girls voiced was both hopeful and tinged with disbelief. “I thought you hated it when I did stuff like hug you.”

“I didn’t like it when you’d do it without warning, or crush my ribs, but I never hated it. It actually felt kind of nice” Weiss scuffed the ground with the toe of her boot. “A-and I wouldn’t be opposed if you wanted to continue.”

“O-okay.” Ruby smiled, before a look of worry flashed across her face. “You’re totally cool with it though right? I don’t want to force you do something you’re not al-” Her rambling was interrupted by a pair of arm wrapping themselves around her.

“Sorry I didn’t ask if this was okay.” Weiss murmured from her partner’s shoulder. “You were getting caught up in your thoughts again.” Slowly, Ruby relaxed into the embrace.

“Thanks, Weiss.” After a minute, Ruby pulled away, blushing furiously. “We should get going, still gotta kill that Grimm. Er, Weiss, could you take care of the door?” Nodding, Weiss, picked up Myrtenaster and clicked the Earth dust chamber, the barrier crumbling into rubble. Ruby slung the pack onto her back and led the way out of the cave, Weiss trailing behind slightly. She felt lighter somehow, as though a weight had been lifted from off her shoulders and neck. Perhaps Blake had been right and being open about things was relieving. If this was how she felt after such a simple admission, how much better would she feel after admitting her greatest secret?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's that time once again, time for a new chapter! Once again not much to be said about this one. Also don't forget there will be an update next Tuesday.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


	11. Chapter 11

To almost no-one’s surprise, Weiss came top of the year in the end of semester exams and it was with no small amount of restraint that Weiss had resisted the urge to parade her exam results around Beacon and rub them in everyone’s faces. She had however, been unable to resist the temptation to brag about it to the rest of the team, who all took it in good humour, having all achieved respectable results thanks to Weiss’ intense revision sessions.

The winter holidays arrived and Weiss absolutely refused to return to Atlas even for a moment, electing to remain at Beacon over the holiday. Unsurprisingly, both Ruby and Yang decided to return home to Patch. Surprisingly however, they told Weiss and Blake, who had also decided to stay, that they’d be coming back after a week instead of staying home for the solstice. Yang had said they hadn’t wanted to deprive Weiss and Blake of their company for too long, but Weiss still appreciated the gesture.

After Ruby and Yang had left Weiss immediately took advantage of the half empty dorm to let her wings free more often, after letting them free in the cave it felt wrong somehow to keep them cooped up all the time. Whenever Blake was out of the room for any significant amount of time, Weiss would shed her coat and go about her business in comfort for once. The treacherous voice at the back of her mind kept suggesting that she just tell Blake, then she could have her wings out all the time, no more cramps. It was getting harder and harder to ignore the voice, especially when Blake was around, having elected to discard her bow all the time whenever they were in their dorm.

Her and Blake’s days before the sisters returned were mostly spent either wandering the grounds and Vale or in the company of Velvet and Coco. After learning Weiss had never had what Coco termed ‘proper coffee’ before Beacon, the fashionista had taken it upon herself to drag Weiss, with Blake and Velvet in tow, to all the best cafés and coffeehouses in Vale. Then would follow a rather heated ‘discussion’ between Coco and Blake over whether coffee or tea was the superior drink whilst their more collected teammates would hold them back.

Spending time with Velvet was rather eye-opening for Weiss. The rabbit Faunus didn’t hide who she was like Blake did and got a lot of side-eyes, people crossing the street to avoid her and muttered insults for it. Of course, if Coco was within earshot she would promptly leap to her partner’s defence, spitting insults and threats at the perpetrator until Velvet was able to drag her off and calm down. Yet despite this Velvet held her head high, or at least as high as the shy girl could manage and ignored the hatred. Weiss secretly envied her for being able to be free and not worry about status. Blake too seemed affected by spending time with Velvet, however she seemed more withdrawn, looking almost guilty at times.

And so passed the first week of the holiday before Yang and Ruby returned. It didn’t take long for Weiss to start feeling cooped up with the other two girls in the dorm. The room was now never empty and Weiss missed having the time to let her wings relax. Being stuck in her coat all day made them stiff and painful, it was a wholly uncomfortable experience.

She found it quite concerning that she’d gone from grudgingly accepting the wings to missing being able to let them free.

* * *

 

On Tuesday evening, Ruby had declared that the team was going into Vale the next day to look at the Solstice decorations around Vale before the actual event on Thursday. Thus found team RWBY at Wednesday lunch, sat in a corner of the sparsely populated dining hall. Yang and Ruby were having some sort of argument over whether a Spruce Willis film was appropriate viewing during the Solstice whilst Blake sipped at her tea, reading one of her ‘romance’ novels and Weiss was attending to her perfectly constructed smoked salmon sandwiches.

“Look I’m just saying Rubes, it’s got everything! Explosions, fights and the Solstice! How could it not be appropriate for us to watch tomorrow?” Yang gestured wildly with a piece of toast, ignoring that she was spraying crumbs everywhere when she spoke.

“Because Yang, it’s got nothing to do with the meaning of the Solstice! Blake and Weiss said they’d never seen a Solstice movie before and I don’t want it to be some dumb action film.”

Yang gasped in mock horror. “Some dumb action film? You take that back you heathen!” Ruby just stuck out her tongue.

“Make me.” Weiss was about to jump in to prevent another sibling argument from turning into a brawl, when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. Four boys, led by a familiar red head, moving over to a lone girl with rabbit ears, sat at a table a few rows away.

Weiss heard a low growl emanating from her left, Blake had noticed as well. She scanned the hall quickly, where was Coco? Last time Cardin and his band of merry morons had tried to pick on Velvet, Coco had sent them running with their metaphorical tails between their legs.

“Where’s Coco?” Weiss whispered to Blake, now completely ignoring Yang and Ruby’s slap fight.

“Gone home for the Solstice, Velvet’s the only one still here.” Blake gritted out as they saw Cardin snatch hold of one of Velvet’s ears. Blake looked like she was about to make a move but Weiss held her back.

“Easy, Velvet can handle herself.” Sure enough, having had enough of the boy’s torment, Velvet swung a fist into Cardin’s gut, winding him. What Weiss hadn’t expected was for the other three to set upon Velvet. And yet no one moved to stop them, pointedly ignoring the incredibly one-sided scuffle. Cardin had caught his breath and was menacingly looming over the poor rabbit Faunus.

“If I may be excused for just one moment.” Weiss delicately set down her bagel and before any of the others could react, was striding over to the fracas.

The closer she got, the more she realised this was a bad, awful, terrible idea. Weiss was even worse than Ruby when it came to unarmed combat, and that was saying something. But she had a plan, at least, she hoped it counted as a plan.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” Weiss shouted at the boys surrounding Velvet.

“We’re just teaching this animal a little lesson that’s all.” Cardin grinned smarmily, turning to face Weiss. “You want to join?” Weiss could feel her wings trying to flare in anger, but she kept them calm, settling instead for her most icy glare.

“No, I will not. And you aren’t going to either.” She channelled her most cold and threating tone she could, hoping to bluff him off. “Leave her alone now.”

“Oh right, she’s your ‘friend’ isn’t she.” Cardin mocked, the rest of his team abandoning Velvet to guffaw mindlessly. “I’ve seen you two around campus together, you and your little pet bunny.”

“Don’t you dare call her that. And I’m not doing this just because I’m her friend, I’m doing this because you’re a reprehensible little slimeball and no one deserves to be treated like this. Now, one last time. Leave. Her. Alone.” Weiss gritted out, icy glare boring up into Cardin’s skull. It was a testament to either Cardin’s bravery or his immense idiocy that he didn’t flinch.

“So you want a rematch do you huh? Well, I’ll be happy to oblige!” Without warning, Cardin swung his fist at Weiss’ face. Weiss raised her hand to block, praying it would work. She heard a dull thunk and Cardin’s yelp of pain.

She’d done it. A repulsion glyph spun lazily in the air between them where Cardin’s fist had collided with it.

“Ack! Get her!” Cardin shook his hand out as he commanded his underlings.

Emboldened by the success of her impromptu plan, Weiss palmed a chunk of gravity dust from inside her coat and focused her aura through it. Three more glyphs formed beneath each other member and they found themselves stuck to the floor.

“If it’s a fight you want Cardin, it’s one on one.” Weiss sneered, focusing again and the glyph between them vanished, only for a rapidly spinning gravity glyph to materialise under Cardin. Cardin made a brief move towards Weiss, only to feel himself losing his grip on the floor and was catapulted up into the air. Weiss reached into her coat again, withdrawing another dust crystal and channelling even more aura through it. Half a dozen glyphs formed around the now helplessly floating Cardin, each one spinning and launching a spear of ice into the floating boy before dissipating.

Relaxing her hold on the gravity dust, the glyph keeping Cardin afloat vanished, letting him crash back down to the floor. As he started crawling to his feet, one more glyph shimmered into existence under him. Weiss pulsed her aura once more and a piercing sound ripped through the air as Cardin was encased in ice, save for his head. The entire fight had lasted for less than a minute.

Immobilised completely, Cardin squirmed in desperation as Weiss released her grip on the other three, she glared at them as she tucked the now much smaller crystals away, daring them to help their team leader. Sensibly, they decided against that course of action and fled the room. Weiss dropped into a crouch, facing Cardin.

“I told you to leave her alone.”

Standing back up, Weiss delicately stepped around the block of ice, ignoring the stares of the rest of the room, and offered a hand to Velvet who’d been cowering on the floor after the other three had moved on her.

“Are you alright Velvet?” Velvet accepted the hand up as she stared at the still struggling bully.

“I’m fine. You didn’t have to do that.” Velvet mumbled guiltily.

“Yes, I did.” Weiss tone brokered no argument. They both jumped as a loud voice shouted over the subdued chatter of the room.

“Miss Schnee!” Weiss winced, turning to face Professor Goodwitch. “Come with me, right now.”

“Yes, Professor.” Head held high, Weiss regally stepped forward and followed Professor Goodwitch out of the dining hall as she levitated the block of ice with them.

* * *

 

Weiss’ punishment had been relatively tame compared to the satisfaction she’d gotten from beating up Cardin, just a detention then and there writing an essay on why violence outside of sanctioned battles was bad. Weiss had actually enjoyed it. In contrast, Cardin and his team had gotten a month’s worth of detention in light of past offenses, and Cardin was still stuck in the block of ice, Weiss may have been a bit overzealous with that.

Unfortunately, the detention had taken up most of the afternoon, however it did give Weiss some breathing room to contemplate her course of action when she rejoined her friends.

Even if the thought of what she was going to do made her want to vomit just a little bit.

She needed, no, _wanted_ to do this. Blake had said getting stuff off your chest made you feel better and Weiss had never felt so sure of herself.

A wave of dizziness suddenly washed over Weiss and she staggered slightly. She’d been having these since the fight, rather awkward to explain away to the supervising Professor Goodwitch. Weiss was unused to channelling her aura directly through dust and quite frankly it had been exhausting. All she really wanted to do was sleep, but she had things to do. Taking a deep, calming breath, Weiss opened the door to the dorm.

The breath was immediately knocked out of her by a scarlet blur slamming into her midriff. “OhmygodyouweresocoolIhopeGoodwitchwasn’ttoohardonyouyouwerelikehwachaandkablamand-” Ruby’s babbling was interrupted by Yang reaching over and picking Ruby up by the hood and depositing her away from Weiss.

“Jeez Rubes, let Weiss breathe for a minute.” Yang grinned at Weiss as the smaller girl caught her breath. “It was really cool though, why didn’t you tell us you could do that with Dust before.”

“I. Didn’t.” Weiss wheezed out. “Just learned it. Today.” She looked over at where Blake was sitting, frowning slightly.

“That was dangerous Weiss, you could’ve been hurt.” Concern edged her voice a she looked disapprovingly at the sisters. “And _some of us_ shouldn’t be encouraging others to be so reckless.” Both Yang and Ruby looked away guiltily. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re okay Weiss, I imagine Goodwitch wasn’t so hard on you given the circumstances.”

“Hardly, just a single detention and writing an essay. Sorry I stopped you from going to see the decorations though.”

“Hey, it’s no big deal princess.” Yang reassured her. “We can always go see ‘em tomorrow.” Weiss nodded, only to be hit with another dizzy spell. She staggered and was caught by Ruby, who guided her over to her bed.

“You alright Weiss?”

She held up a hand, trying to breathe normally before carefully nodding. “I am I think I used a bit too much aura in on go.” Weiss chuckled lightly. “I’m actually really tired right now.”

Then you should take a nap!” Ruby moved to help Weiss take off her coat, which Weiss deftly avoided.

“No thank you Ruby, I don’t need help. And I’d rather hold off on that nap right now. I have something I want to do first.” She needed to do this, remove the weight that was choking her, get better.

 “I need you to do some things first though. If you could make sure the door’s locked and the curtains are drawn please.” Ruby hopped up and drew the blinds whilst Yang checked the door. Weiss stood up, careful not to set off another bout of dizziness. Weiss positioned herself with the window to her back, facing her team and the door.

“Okay Weiss, what’s this about?” Yang drawled, perplexed by the secrecy and theatrics.

“Firstly, what I’m about to tell you can never leave this room.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve been lying to you all about this but I don’t want to hide who I am anymore, not around you.” Weiss shrugged off the bulky jacket and let her wings unfold, stretching from their confinement. Fully grown and extended, they almost spanned the gap between the beds. Despite their length however, the secondary feathers barely reached the small of her back. She flapped them back and forth, making sure they weren’t going to cramp, that would be embarrassing, and turned her attention back to the others.

Yang’s jaw had dropped, Ruby was making incoherent spluttering noises and Blake just remained as impassive as ever.

“I’m sorry I hid this from you, but if it got out, I’d be ruined. My life, my future, all destroyed.” Weiss looked away, waiting for the shouting and recriminations that she knew she deserved.

“Don’t be.” The heiress looked up at Blake’s words. “Don’t ever be sorry for doing something to be safe.” Blake closed the gap between them and wrapped Weiss in a massive hug. “Weiss, I can’t imagine what it must have been like. I’ve been told all my life that I’m an animal, something less than human for what I am. Hearing that constantly from your family…” Weiss sniffed just a little.

“I wanted you to know, I kept thinking about telling you. But I was afraid you’d leave me for lying to you, for my hypocrisy over what I said before. You three are the only friends I’ve ever had. I couldn’t lose that.”

“You aren’t getting rid of us that easily princess” Yang had picked her jaw up off the floor and joined in the hug. “I wish you’d felt you could trust us with this sooner, but it was your choice.” Weiss could feel tears pricking in her eyes. There was just one more she needed to hear, the most important of all. “Hey Rubes? You gonna get in on this or what?” Yang called to her sister, still rooted to the spot.

Slowly Ruby shook herself out of her daze and pointed an accusing finger at Weiss. “You _were_ the angel in the forest that saved me!” The younger girl huffed and crossed her arms. “You could’ve told us before, you know.” She pouted, only to be met with a baleful look from Yang.

“It was Weiss’ choice to tell this _incredibly personal_ thing, just like it’s any of our decision to tell or not tell each other about our own _incredibly personal_ things.” Ruby looked sheepish at Yang’s enigmatic comment, and settled instead for joining the group hug.

“Thank you for trusting us with this.” Ruby mumbled from somewhere within the huddle.

Weiss let out a watery chuckle. “Thank you all, for being here for me.” She yawned deeply and felt herself and her wings relax “Can we continue talking about this tomorrow, I’m so tired…” Weiss’ words trailed off as her wings wrapped themselves around the group and she succumbed to her exhaustion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, things are out in the open now, sorta. Unlike the last few chapters, I do have something to say about this one. This was the hardest chapter to write by far, I've had Weiss' reveal planned out since about chapter 3 but it's undergone so many rewrites since then and I'm still not completely satisfied with it. Not sure whether it's too early in the story for the reveal, not sure whether the team's reaction feels genuine etc. But it's here and it's happened and there's no going back. 
> 
> Also for those who're interested, Weiss' Faunus species get revealed next chapter so last chance to make any guesses.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	12. Chapter 12

Weiss was woken up by a stray beam of sunlight slipping through the curtains. Blinking away the spots in her eyes, Weiss stretched out, feeling her wings flex behind her. She’d never felt so light and free before, always having something weighing her down, choking her.

Wait, her wings were loose. The familiar weight slammed down on her again. Panicking, Weiss quickly checked, she was still in her day clothes and her jacket was thrown over one of the chairs. They must have seen her wings, Weiss’ breathing began to speed up, she’d been caught, how could she have gotten so careless? Then the events of yesterday afternoon slowly trickled back into her mind.

Groaning, she pulled herself up to look across the room. Blake was still fast asleep and Ruby was snoring faintly from above. Yang however, wasn’t in her bunk.

“Morning princess!” Yang said cheerfully from the foot of Weiss’ bed, making Weiss yelp in surprise, wings flaring.

“Don’t do that!” She whisper-shouted at the grinning blonde.

“And deprive myself of those hilarious noises you make when you’re surprised?” Yang smirked back.

Weiss huffed in indignation and folded her arms disapprovingly. “Well, anyway, why am I still in my day clothes?”

“You fell asleep during the group hug, didn’t want to wake you and thought you’d be pissed if we undressed you.” Yang shrugged.

“Ah, yes, good point.” Weiss settled down. “So why are you up so early?”

Yang’s grin dimmed slightly and she looked at Weiss more seriously. “I wanted to see how you were holding up. You said you wanted to wait until today to talk about your…” She gestured behind Weiss.

The heiress sighed quietly. “I’m fine, thank you Yang. I suppose we do have things to talk about. I’d rather get it over with sooner than later.”

Yang nodded. “Okay, I’ll get Blake.” She straightened up and walked across the room and started gently shaking Blake. “Wakey wakey Blakey.”

Rolling her eyes, Weiss pulled herself up and peered into Ruby’s blanket fort. She spied her, cozied up in her blankets, clutching that feather from all those weeks ago.

Weiss prodded Ruby, hard. “Get up Ruby. Things to do.”

“Five more minutes snow angel….” The brunette mumbled, turning over in her sleep. Weiss’ face scrunched in irritation as she heard Blake’s sleepy chuckles. She poked Ruby again, harder.

“No more minutes Ruby, and don’t call me that!” the younger girl yelped at the sharp jab and bolted upright.

“I’m up! I’m up!” she flailed toward the light and fell out of her bunk.

Directly onto Weiss.

Weiss thought she was doing a tremendous job of not screeching in rage at Blake and Yang’s laughter at her plight. Instead she rolled her team leader off of her and pulled herself up, brushing off the dust and flexing her wings to make sure they weren’t damaged by the fall.

“Right.” Weiss primly settled herself back down on her bunk, facing Yang and Blake, Ruby scrambling up from the floor. “It’s been brought to my attention that we need to have a team discussion about my… status.” She flapped her wings for emphasis. “I suppose we should start with any questions you three might have for me.” Blake raised an eyebrow at Weiss’ formality, but nevertheless started.

“Why tell us now?”

“I…” Weiss hesitated, she was fine now, no need to burden them. “I feel secure in who I am now and I wanted you all to know who that is.”

Blake looked dissatisfied with this answer, but didn’t press. “Does anyone else know you’re a Faunus?” She continued.

“As far as I’m aware, no. I suppose my mother would have, it’s hard to miss your child having wings. But her remembering now is… unlikely and let’s just leave it at that.” Ruby opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Yang.

“So what kind of Faunus are you?”

“If you want anything more specific than ‘bird’ I’m afraid you’re out of luck. I’ve never been particularly interested in knowing.”

Ruby’s hand suddenly shot into the air. “Ooh, I think I know!” The other three turned to her incredulously. “Hold on.” She hopped up and rummaged through her blankets, pulling out her feather.

“This came from you, right Weiss?” She dropped down and compared it with Weiss’ plumage. “I wanted to know what kind of bird it came from, so I looked it up. It’s an albatross feather.” Ruby grinned at Weiss, but then it faltered slightly, as though an unwelcome thought had crossed her mind.

“Weiss. How come no one else knows, how were you able to hide this for so long? I mean your wings are really pretty and all, but they’re also really big. I don’t know how you could’ve hidden them back when we first met.”

Weiss had been afraid of this. She didn’t want to admit what she’d done, but she couldn’t think of a believable enough lie. “Aside from how father is not the most attentive man. My wings grew in when I was ten, when my aura was unlocked.”

“I thought you said your mother would have noticed them when you were born? How’d they grow in when you were ten?” Yang frowned.

“I only assume I had them at birth, people don’t just become Faunus.” She knew that now, would’ve been nice to know back then, when she thought it was some sort of curse. “But I imagine they were removed shortly after.” Blake looked sickened by this, Yang horrified.

“Removed, you mean…” Yang’s eyes flicked to where the join between Weiss and wing would be. “Have they growing back since you were ten?” Weiss refused to look at the others, cheeks colouring in guilt. Yang took this as a negative. “Weiss, what happened?”

“I happened, Yang. I couldn’t tell father, Winter had left and mother… I did what I had to do.” Weiss kept looking away, she couldn’t bear to see the nausea in Blake’s face. “It’s in the past now, not worth dredging up, so can we drop it please?” Ruby looked puzzled, like she didn’t understand. Blake opened her mouth to speak but Yang placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head silently, eyes flicking to her sister.

“I guess there’s really only one question left.” Ruby spoke hesitantly, still looking confused. “What do you want us to do now you’ve told us?”

“Just, help me keep my secret. If I’m outed before I can take full control of the SDC, I’ll be thrown out, disowned by my father. I won’t be heiress anymore.”

“Would that be so bad?” Blake mumbled. Weiss just looked at her with incredulity.

“If I’m not CEO of the SDC, then I can’t change it, nothing will change for our people Blake, unless I do something! And the best thing I can do is undo all the damage Jacques Schnee has done to my grandfather’s legacy and make things better for the Faunus under our employ.”

Blake opened her mouth and looked like she was going to argue for a moment before closing it and nodding. After a moment of silence, Ruby spoke up loudly.

“Alright then team! It’s the Solstice today which means we’ve got a lot to do, I’ve got the list right here.” She skipped over to and rummaged around in her desk drawer and pulled out a roll of paper which unfurled to about 2 metres in length. Weiss just sighed, but couldn’t suppress a smile at Ruby’s antics.

“Ruby, I don’t think we’re gonna be able to get everything on that list done today.” Yang warned whilst Blake dropped down to decipher some of Ruby’s scrawl.

“Foil a home invasion, defeat a killer snowman” Blake’s finger trailed down the list. “Stop a terrorist group. Ruby, some of these don’t sound particularly festive.”

Yang pointed an accusatory finger at Ruby. “Aha! And you said it was just a dumb action flick.”

“What ‘dumb action flick’?” Blake asked, still reading.

“The terrorist thing, it’s from that film I was trying to get Ruby to agree to watch yesterday.”

“Oh, I thought she meant foiling another White Fang theft or something.” Blake’s tone was light, but Weiss could sense an undercurrent of something darker.

Ignoring Blake for now, Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. “Ruby, we are not recreating any movies. Yang could you please look over Ruby’s list and remove any and all non-festive activities. I’ll inspect your revised list after breakfast.”

“Alright, come on Blakey let’s get changed and go for breakfast.” Yang snatched the list out of Ruby’s hands and set about gathering her clothes for the day.

Taking advantage of Yang’s distraction, Weiss hurriedly gathered her own clothes and shower things and darted into the bathroom before Yang could start her hour long haircare regime. She loved her friends, but Weiss really needed to decompress after all that. Sighing in relief at the merciful quiet of the bathroom, Weiss calmly went through her routine. She’d always found a kind of relaxation in order and organisation. She idly wondered how one cleaned their wings properly as she soaped herself, perhaps there was a special cleaner for feathered Faunus.

Clean and dressed, tying her hair off to the side, Weiss emerged from the bathroom to find the dorm empty, save for Ruby sat on Blake’s bed, feet kicking.

“Oh, hey Weiss, Blake and Yang have already gone down.” She said as she hopped to her feet.

“Sorry, did you need the bathroom?” Weiss asked, concerned she’d delayed her partner.

“No, no. I-I uh wanted to tell you something.” Ruby’s foot began knocking against the other, and she began to sway. She practically reeked of nerves and doubt and Weiss had a reasonable guess why.

“This is about that thing Yang said last night isn’t it?” Ruby started guiltily, refusing to look Weiss in the eye.

“No! Well, yeah it is I guess…” She trailed off.

Weiss moved in to place her hands on Ruby’s shoulders “Ruby, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to just because I shared my secret with you.”

“But it’s not fair otherwise.” The younger girl mumbled.

“It’s not about fairness. It’s about doing what you feel comfortable with and right now you don’t look comfortable with telling me this at all.” Weiss could feel the curiosity gnawing at the back of her mind, but she pushed it down as she continued. “Don’t feel obligated. If you really want to tell me about this, wait until this evening and think it over, okay?” Weiss dropped her hands and walked over to her coat, pulling it off its peg and swinging it on. “See you at breakfast?”

“Yeah.” Ruby’s voice sounded slightly choked. Giving the young leader what she hoped was an encouraging smile, Weiss walked out of the room. She hadn’t made it more than a foot after the door swung shut when a hand clamped down on her arm. Whirling to face her assailant, she was greeted with a cheerfully grinning Yang,

“Hellloooooo! We need to talk.” And without another word, she dragged Weiss into team JNPR’s dorm room, locking the door behind them.

“What?! Yang, what are we doing in here?” Weiss squawked, looking around for Nora or worse, Jaune.

“Relax princess, JNPR’s not getting back until Saturday. I got the room code off Nora, we were gonna do this thing with a ton of pudding and Jaune’s pyjamas.” Yang coughed, realising she’d gotten side-tracked. “Anyway, it’s private in here for now.” She walked over to the nearest bed and dropped onto it, patting the space next to her.

Warily, Weiss joined Yang on the bed. “What is it you wanted to talk about?” Yang breath hissed through her teeth as she took a deep breath.

“I didn’t want to push any further earlier, not when Ruby was there, I don’t think she understood.” Her eyes flicked back, resting on Weiss’ back for a moment. “When you said you happened, you meant you cut your wings off, didn’t you?” Weiss’ breath caught in her throat, silently she nodded. “Ah jeez, I really don’t want to have to ask this but, that wasn’t the only time was it?” A shake of the head, she felt sick. Why did she feel like she’d disappointed someone? Telling her friends was supposed to make her better but she could hear the buzzing.

“How often?” Weiss didn’t respond, she just sat numbly, listening to the buzzing. “Weiss, talk to me please.”

“Once a year, at first.” Weiss croaked out slowly. “More after, almost monthly when I stopped.” Yang swore under her breath.

“Okay Weiss, please don’t get mad, but you need to see one of the counsellors about this.” The buzzing was getting louder, but Weiss forced herself to ignore it, instead glaring up at Yang.

“And why should I? I told you, it’s in the past, I’m fine now.”

“Because it’s not just in the past Weiss, you’ve been hurting yourself for years now, that doesn’t just go away.” Weiss stood up angrily, the buzzing was quietening with her rage.

“Well it has, I’m stronger now and I’m not cutting them off anymore so there’s no problem. Do you really think bringing all that back up again is really going to help me?!” Weiss shrieked, Yang stood up as well, towering over Weiss.

“Because it will! Otherwise it’ll just fester, you can’t just hurt yourself on purpose like that and expect to be fine. Believe me I know. Weiss, I just want to help you.” Yang sounded like she was trying not to shout, but was doing a poor job of it.

“Well I don’t need your help.” Weiss stalked over to the door and threw it open. “This conversation is over.”

“Fine, go then! Like I care!” Yang yelled back as Weiss slammed the door behind her and stormed off to breakfast. Her? Need counselling? Ridiculous! Blake had told her she should go to get things off her chest and feel better but she’d done that! There was no need to go, there was nothing wrong with her now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for another chapter! So yeah, Weiss is an albatross Faunus, sorry if that wasn't entirely noticeable from the descriptions.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	13. Chapter 13

Blake raised a quizzical eyebrow as Weiss dropped heavily onto the bench and started aggressively slathering cream cheese on her bagel.

“Don’t ask.”

“I wasn’t going to.” Blake handed over Ruby’s list of Solstice activities before returning to her book. “We went over it whilst you were showering. All non-festive activities have been removed now pending your approval.” Weiss unfurled the scroll and scanned down the list, more than two thirds had been scratched out, with helpful annotations stating which movie Ruby was trying to re-enact.

“Thank you Blake.” Good, several items on the list were perfectly feasible and accommodated the plan to see the decorations in Vale.

“It’s not me you should be thanking, but I suspect you aren’t in the mood to be talking to Yang much right now.”

Weiss just glared at Blake, before sighing and letting the list drop to the table. “What did she tell you?”

“Only that she was going to talk to you about something, I can guess what it was.” Her eyes flicked towards Weiss’ shoulders.

“And let me guess, you agree with her?”

“I’m staying out of this one. Yes, I have an opinion on the matter, but voicing it right now won’t be helpful.” Blake refused to look at Weiss. “If I say anything, I’ll disappoint someone and I can’t do that again.” She mumbled out, before catching herself and burying herself back into her novel

Weiss regarded Blake with an odd look, but her attempt to probe further was interrupted by the arrival of Ruby and Yang. The latter was glaring daggers at Weiss, who readily returned the glare.

“Hey girls!” Ruby sat down beside Weiss and started on her marshmallow flakes.

“Hi Blake.” Yang pointedly didn’t greet Weiss, at which Ruby looked incredibly confused.

Before Ruby could ask what was going on Weiss hastily snatched up the list of activities and quickly scanned down the list for a suitable one to start the day with. “So, I thought we could start with this baking gingerbread Grimm thing.”

“Ooh, that’s one of my favourites, though I don’t think we have all the ingredients for it and all the stores will be closed today.” Suitably distracted Ruby, started musing over where they could get supplies for gingerbread. Weiss exhaled in relief, she did not want to get Ruby involved in this ‘spat’ with Yang and force her to pick a side. Ruby was terrible when it came to remaining neutral, unlike Blake it seemed.

“Perhaps we could borrow some from Team CFVY? I’m sure Velvet wouldn’t mind.” Blake suggested, keeping an eye on both Yang and Weiss, probably making sure they didn’t go for each other’s throats. Weiss found this quite insulting, she could be civil whilst still feuding. If anything it would be Yang who should have an eye kept on, the uncivilised brute.

“Yeah, that sounds great!” Ruby cheered through a mouthful of cereal, spraying milk and marshmallow over the table.

“Ruby! Don’t talk with your mouth full!” Weiss scolded, pulling out a handkerchief and dabbing at Ruby’s mouth. Yang rolled her eyes at the display.

“Oh yes, because when you tell people they should do something it’s all okay isn’t it?” She snorted disdainfully, eyeing the pair.

“Well excuse me for wanting my partner to have good manners, unlike _some other things_ , good manners are not a personal matter.” Weiss sniped back, finishing her cleaning of Ruby and tucking the handkerchief away with a flourish.

“Um, is something wrong?” Ruby asked, head tilting in that oddly endearing way. “You two are being meaner than usual.”

“It’s nothing Ruby, don’t worry.” Weiss reassured her partner, shooting an evil look at Yang. Now look what she’d done.

“Of course she says it’s nothing, everything’s nothing to the ice queen.” Weiss could feel the animosity rolling off of Yang. She opened her mouth for a biting retort when Blake slammed her book shut and stood up.

“Ruby, finish your Pumpkin Pete’s, then maybe you can see what order we should do the stuff on the list. You two, come with me.” Shamefacedly, the two arguing girls trailed after Blake as she led them outside. Once outside the cafeteria, she whirled on the other two. “What were you doing in there?” She didn’t raise her voice, but the disappointment was clear. And Weiss was having none of it.

“Oh, so this is you staying out of it is it.” All the vitriol previously directed at Yang was now turned on the dark-haired girl. Blake flinched, hand twitching up to grasp her left bicep.

“I-I’m not getting involved by t-taking sides. But you two going at it in there’s going to upset Ruby.” Weiss’ venomous response died in her throat, she’d gotten so caught up in sniping at Yang she’d forgotten she was trying to keep Ruby out of it. The faint buzzing was back again, why was it here? She was fixed!

“From what I gather, the Solstice is supposed to be about family and togetherness and it means a lot to Ruby. So you two going at each other is not good for that.” Blake’s voice got a little stronger now no-one was yelling at her. “Even if you can’t make up now, just be civil for one day please.”

Dropping her scowl slightly, Weiss turned to Yang. “Truce?”

“I guess…” Yang grumbled. “We done now? My food’s getting cold.” She turned and stalked back into the cafeteria. Blake just shrugged and hurried after her partner leaving Weiss alone outside.

Weiss waited a few seconds before heading off in the opposite direction, toward the courtyard, she’d suddenly lost her appetite. She didn’t have to walk far before she reached her favourite bench, the one under the willow. Last time she’d sat there, back in September, there’d been lots of students wandering around the courtyard. Unlike last time however, the frost-dusted courtyard was deserted.

She dropped her head into her hands and groaned loudly, nothing she did seemed to go right. Confessing to her team was supposed to be her moment, make her better. Instead she managed to get in a fight with Yang and was _this_ close to ruining the Solstice for Ruby.

And most importantly, why wasn’t that infernal buzzing stopping?! She slammed a fist into the bench, wincing at the sting of pain. She couldn’t do anything right, she was a failure. Her fist slammed into the bench again, harder. The pain was something to focus on, something other than that infuriating buzzing.

“Hey Weiss?” A high piping voice cut through the noise, Weiss looked up into the concerned silver eyes of her partner. “You mind if I sit here?” Weiss just gestured to the space beside her.

“What are you and Yang fighting about?” Ruby asked as she sat down on the bench. “I don’t think I’ve seen you argue with someone this badly since Blake ran away.”

Weiss snorted in wry amusement. “What a coincidence. Blake reveals she’s a Faunus and I get in a big argument, I tell you I’m a Faunus and I get into another big argument.” Weiss let her head drop, dry chuckles shook her body.

“Yang thinks I should see a counsellor for what she thinks are some lingering issues. I disagreed.”

“That’s putting it mildly.” Ruby mumbled. “You don’t look particularly angry right now though.”

“Well, now I just feel stupid and useless. People want to help me and I push them away. Even though I don’t need counselling, I’m the one who started shouting first.” She fell back against the bench, wallowing in self-pity.

Ruby looked pained at her partner’s words. “I wish you wouldn’t keep putting yourself down like that. You’re not stupid or useless.”

“How can I be anything else?”

“You’re strong, so much stronger than you think you are. And smart, way smarter than I am.” Weiss laughed softly.

“Now you’re the one putting yourself down.”

“I just wish you could see yourself how I see you.” Weiss looked up at Ruby curiously.

“And how exactly do you see me?” The brunette opened her mouth, then closed it again, as though she was carefully considering her words.

“You’re clever, beautiful, determined. I could keep going I guess.” Ruby shrugged, the white-haired girl just cocked her head. Something seemed… off about Ruby’s description. Like there was something she wanted to say, but was using these banal encouraging buzzwords as a cover.

Weiss was about to ask her partner what she wasn’t saying but Ruby interrupted. “So why don’t you want to go to counselling?” The heiress just snorted in derision.

“I’m fixed, you only need counselling if you need help. I confessed my secret and I feel better for it, therefore I don’t need counselling.” She said with incredulity, how do people not get this? Blake seemed to, she’d made the suggestion after all.

“Weiss… I don’t think that’s how that works…” Ruby spoke hesitantly, afraid of riling her partner. “But if you say you don’t want to go, you don’t go.”

“What about Yang? She’s so insistent I need help.” Ruby just sighed.

“Yang can get kinda stubborn when it comes to helping people she cares about. Actually she can be kinda stubborn about a lot of things. And then when she gets mad it can take some time to cool off” She admitted. “She’ll cool off eventually though. Then you guys can make up properly and not just because Blake told you to.”

“You knew about that?”

Ruby fixed Weiss with a baleful gaze. “It wasn’t that hard to figure out, Weiss. I’m fifteen, not stupid.” She hopped to her feet and turned to face Weiss. “Soooo… I figured since you and Yang haven’t made up properly yet, it’s probably not a good idea for the two of you to be spending the Solstice together. Even though it would be just like a movie if the two of you learned to work together and embraced the spirit of the Solstice.” Ruby clasped her hands together in joy and then dropped them in mild dejection. “But that’s probably not going to happen, especially since you are so against re-enacting movies. So instead, you and I are going to celebrate the Solstice together!”

“What? Ruby, the Solstice is supposed to be about family, I can’t take you away from your sister like that. You spend the time with Yang and I’ll find something to do on my own, or with Blake.”

“Weiss, you know Blake doesn’t celebrate the Solstice, neither does Yang really.” Ruby scuffed the ground nervously. “Really they were doing it because you mentioned your family hadn’t celebrated in years and I love the Solstice.” The two of them were going to do that for her?

“Blake and Yang don’t celebrate the Solstice? How come?” Weiss had never heard of such a thing, even if her family hadn’t celebrated, they at least paid lip service to it.

“I don’t know about Blake, but the Solstice is really only a Valean and Atlesian tradition. Dad’s family came from Mistral so he celebrates Mistralian holidays and Yang joins him.” Ruby’s expression drooped a little, as did her head. “Mom was the one who celebrated the Solstice, so after she… left. Yang started observing it with me, so I wouldn’t be alone.” From her lower position, Weiss could see tears sparkling in Ruby’s eyes. Without really thinking, she stood up and wrapped Ruby in a hug, which was received with a shocked eep.

“It’s okay, Ruby.” She stepped back, still maintaining contact. “So what do we do first?”

A bright smile split Ruby’s face and she started bouncing with excitement. “Okay! First we’re going to head into Vale to see all the decorations, then we’re going to come back here and bake some gingerbreadandeatitThenthere’stheSolsticemealthey’reprovidingandafterthatwecan-”

“Ruby, breathe.” Weiss instructed, clamping a grounding hand on her shoulder.

“Right, yes. I’m just super excited I get to spend the Solstice with you.” The young leader squealed, vibrating so much, rose petals were beginning to form and float off her. “Come on! Let’s go!” Seizing Weiss’ hand, Ruby hauled her off down the path towards the Beacon airdocks.

This was fine, Weiss mused to herself. She could enjoy today, if only for a little while before trying to make up with Yang.

* * *

 

Later that evening, Weiss and Ruby were curled up in Weiss’ bunk, watching a movie Ruby had insisted was appropriate for the Solstice. Weiss had let out her wings and was absently smoothing her feathers and preening.

“I don’t understand. Why doesn’t the boy just contact the authorities?”

“Because then the movie wouldn’t work, suspension of disbelief Weiss.” Ruby chided lightly, nibbling at a gingerbread Beowulf. Weiss huffed good-naturedly and returned to the movie, watching as the child began filling his house with traps.

“Oh come on, surely it would be more effective to fill the entire stair with nails.” Weiss grumbled, straightening some feathers.

“Hush Weiss, he’s just a kid.”

“Oh please, I could have created a much better booby trapped house than this child when I was his age.” She continued to scoff.

“Weiss. You promised you wouldn’t do this again.”

“I still stand by that, crabs don’t sing!” Weiss crossed her arms in irritation, only to have Ruby squirm up and tuck herself into Weiss’ side, setting the heiress blushing furiously.

“It was a movie Weiss, just try to relax and not over-analyse everything.” Ruby’s remonstration was accompanied by a light flick on Weiss’ nose. Only then did she seem to notice the deep pink that suffused Weiss’ usually pale face. “Uh… This is okay right? I’m not being weird, this isn’t weird.”

“No!” Weiss managed to squeak out before Ruby could start spiralling. “It’s fine.” To reassure the younger girl, Weiss pulled her wing up behind Ruby and wrapped it around her shoulders. “See, everything’s good.”

Ruby carefully moved her hand to stroke the feathers, but paused mid-gesture. “Is it alright if I…? ‘Cause I know Blake is super protective of her ears.”

“Yes, you can touch my wings.” Permission granted, Ruby began stroking the feathers, running her hand down to the tip of the wing.

“I knew they’d be soft ‘cause of the feather. But I never imagined they’d be like this.” She paused in her ministrations. “Is it weird for me to keep your feather?”

“It’s not like I need it anymore, if you want it, you can keep it. Also can you keep doing that? It feels rather nice.” The flush rose again in Weiss’ face and she turned to look away from Ruby, busying herself with the other wing. Acquiescing to Weiss’ request, Ruby continued to stroke and smooth out any feathers that were still crooked from being cooped up in Weiss’ jacket.

Humming contentedly, Weiss leaned in a little closer to her partner resting her head upon Ruby’s. She’d never been this close to anyone before and it felt great. Just two friends, cozied up to one another whilst they watched a film.

“Hey girls.” The red and white pair jumped, having been so engrossed on other things they hadn’t noticed the door open. Blake looked faintly amused at the position the two of them were in, Yang on the other hand was pointedly ignoring Weiss.

“Hey Ruby.” She wandered over to her bunk and hoisted herself up. Weiss just wilted at this, the weight of that morning’s events coming crashing back down. She’d completely managed to forget about it, swept up in Ruby’s infectious cheer.

“Um, hi Yang?” She ventured tentatively whilst Blake flopped onto her own bunk with a book.

Yang just grunted in response.

“Ruby, would you mind going back to your bunk? I don’t really feel like finishing the movie tonight.”

“O-oh, okay…” In disappointment, Ruby crawled off Weiss’ bed and up into her own, leaving an uncomfortable void at Weiss’ side. Dejectedly, Weiss shut off her scroll and settled back into her pillows. No-one spoke again for the rest of the evening, the air of unease and awkwardness laying heavy over the group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter time! I'm afraid once again I'm lacking in much commentary for this chapter.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	14. Chapter 14

The atmosphere between Weiss and Yang remained frosty over the next few days as students trickled back to Beacon. They weren’t rude; but Yang would just ignore Weiss whenever possible and was coldly polite when she couldn’t avoid it. And it was eating away at Weiss. She regretted shouting at Yang, she really did seem to have Weiss’ best interests at heart, even if she had been completely wrong. They’d both just gotten a little heated. But every time Weiss was about to apologise or reopen friendly communication, Yang would just brush her off.

For her part Ruby didn’t know what to do, torn between supporting her sister or her partner. Blake was no help, keeping true to her pledge to stay out of the conflict and instead busying herself with something on her scroll. So Ruby was left alone trying to deal with one unusually cold sister and an irritable heiress.

Although, in actuality Weiss wasn’t irritable because of her spat with Yang, she was far more annoyed that a lot of her stationery supplies had gone missing, including one her favourite binders. So it was much to her surprise that Sunday at breakfast, Ruby appeared out of nowhere and dropped what looked suspiciously like her binder, stuffed full of notes, onto the table. Before she could ask Ruby the meaning of this, the young leader began her proclamation.

“Sisters, friends, wife.”

What.

“Weiss! I said Weiss!” Yang looked like she was fighting the urge to bust out laughing but Ruby ploughed on despite the fluorescent blush adorning her and Weiss’ cheeks. “Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream.” Weiss tuned out Ruby’s speech, ignoring Yang’s interjections and instead studied the binder.

It was hers! That little…

“Did you steal my binder?” Weiss’ voice threatened swift and terrifying justice upon this lowly stationery thief.

Ruby cowered back slightly, hands raised in an odd gesture. “I am not a crook.”

“What are you talking about?” Blake drawled, finally seeing fit to join the conversation. Latching onto this brief distraction, Ruby recovered and pointed dramatically at Blake.

“I’m talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!” Out of the corner of her eye, Weiss noticed Yang perk up, eyes glittering. Oh no, not this, anything but this.

“I always kick my semesters off with a _Yang_!” Weiss groaned internally, thankfully she was saved from having to express any outward disapproval by Nora throwing an apple at Yang’s head with an accompanying boo. Once again ignoring the distractions, Ruby continued.

“Look, girls, it’s been an… interesting two weeks, some big things have happened.” She glanced over at Weiss. “So between that, more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester’s going to be great! But classes start back up tomorrow. Which is why I’ve taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today.” Perhaps this was it, this was how she could fix the thing between her and Yang, who was currently hurling the apple back at its source.

“I don’t know. I think I might sit this one out.” Blake looked back at her notebook. No, this was not good, she needed the rest of the team there as a buffer in case things went wrong.

“Sit it out or not, I think that however we spend this last day, we should do it as a team.” She stood up to continue addressing the team. “I for one thi-” Weiss’ rousing speech was rudely interrupted by a large pie smacking into her face. The entire hall fell silent as, slowly, the pie slid off her face, clattering to the table. With very measured and careful movements, Weiss withdrew a handkerchief from an inside pocket and mopped up the cream covering her eyes and face. Now clean, she glared over at the offending team JNPR’s table and the obviously guilty Nora trying to shift the blame onto Ren.

It. Was. On.

* * *

 

The eight of them trudged back to their dorms to clean up, laughing and joking as they went. Only Blake wasn’t joining in, still consulting her scroll. The fight was a bit of a blur to Weiss, one thing that did stick out in her mind was Ruby catching her after she’d gotten thrown into that pillar and stunned. Weiss rubbed her arm absently, remembering that strange warm tingling feeling she got whenever Ruby touched her, only to immediately regret her actions as her hand was now covered in some unidentifiable foodstuff.

She glanced around at the rest of the group and proceeded so subtly wipe it off on Nora’s jacket, the energetic girl not noticing, too busy yammering away at Ren. Yang on the other hand, did notice and grinned at Weiss, before she remembered they were supposed to be feuding and immediately looked away.

This was getting silly now. “You lot go ahead, Yang and I need to sort something out.” Without waiting for acknowledgement, Weiss grabbed Yang’s sleeve and pulled her aside.

“Ack, watch it princess.” Yang huffed irritably. “What do you want?”

“I’m sorry for getting angry with you before. You only wanted to help and I shouldn’t have started shouting.” Yang looked like she was about to speak, but Weiss wasn’t finished. “But I wasn’t lying when I said I’m better, I don’t need counselling now.” She once again made the mistake of rubbing at her arm in anxiety. “I don’t want this to come between us, I want us to keep being friends.”

“We never weren’t friends…” Yang hesitated, eyes casting around as though looking for the right words. “But, I can’t just let this slide Weiss. You need help, professional help, not just us.” She sighed deeply at Weiss’ affronted glare. “You aren’t going to go though, are you?”

“Of course not, I don’t need it, as I said.” Weiss enunciated clearly, she could feel herself starting to get mad, but she pushed it down. This was _not_ going to be a repeat of the last time.

Yang groaned and ran a hand through her hair, pulling it away quickly once she realised she’d somehow gotten watermelon goop in there. “We can’t keep fighting like this. Maybe we can just leave this for now? I don’t know.” Yang let out a screech of frustration. “I don’t know what to do! Fighting ain’t exactly good for you, especially if you need counselling. But I can’t just let this go or I’ll be a bad friend.”

Weiss had never seen Yang like this before, unsure of herself or what to do. She hated it. But there was nothing she could do about it, nothing except…

“One session.” Yang looked up from her pacing.

“What?”

“I’ll go to one session, for your sake not mine.” Weiss sniffed, trying to put on an air of haughtiness. She was surprised by Yang wrapping her in a massive bear hug, followed immediately by disgust as she realised the Yang was smearing food all over the pair of them. “Ack! Get off you great oaf!” Weiss wormed out of Yang’s grip and inspected her clothes.

“Thanks Weiss.” Yang had her blinding grin back, Weiss hadn’t realised just how much she’d missed it. It certainly made it feel like she hadn’t just made a terrible decision. “Come on, let’s get showered and stuff. I think Rubes has something planned in the library.”

* * *

 

After rinsing a horrifying mix of breakfast foods from her hair and changing into a fresh set of clothes, Weiss joined the rest of her team in the library where Ruby was setting up a board game.

“Hey, Weiss we’re playing Remnant: The Game, come on!” Only slightly hesitantly, Weiss settled into the seat between Ruby and Yang, she sort of hated these seats now, hard backs made it difficult to sit comfortably without crushing her concealed wings. Blake sat opposite, once again fiddling with her scroll and not paying attention as the cards were dealt.

“Okay let’s see who everyone is.” Yang flipped over her kingdom card. “Sweet! I’m Mistral!”

“Aww, I wanted to be Mistral… I’m stuck as stupid Atlas.” Ruby bemoaned before she caught Weiss’ raised eyebrow. “Not that there’s anything wrong with Atlas.” She hurriedly supplied.

Weiss flipped over her card, it seemed she was playing as Vacuo, whatever that meant, which would leave Blake with Vale.

“Okay, one last thing and then we can get started!” Yang started rolling dice and placing miniature Grimm all over the map until it was covered in the beasts. “Okay, let’s play!”

Weiss tuned out most of what was happening, it helped that she had no clue as to what she was supposed to do and just rolled dice and moved her pieces around the Vacuoan desert. Blake seemed to be in a similar position, but somehow even less invested. It served to highlight just how cunning and strategic Yang and Ruby could be as they faced off against each other. She knew Ruby had some talent as a strategist, she had been made team leader and had come up with some truly inspired and crazy plans. Yang however, was a surprise, Weiss had suspected she was more intelligent that she let on but was content to punch things and leave the thinking to the rest of the team. Watching her demolish Ruby’s master stroke with a risky Grimm attack told her that her suspicions were correct.

“Well, Weiss. It’s your turn.” Weiss looked down at her hand of cards and had absolutely no clue what any of them meant. Maybe it was time to come clean. “I… have no idea what’s going on.”

Instead of making fun of her like Weiss expected, Yang just smiled brightly and sidled over to Weiss, resting her hand on her shoulder. “Look, it’s easy. You’re Vacuo which means all Vacuo based cards come with a bonus.”

Weiss wasn’t really listening, too busy focussing on the hand on her shoulder, it felt… nice? Not nearly as nice as when Ruby did it though. “That sounds dumb.” Weiss hurriedly deflected.

“Let’s see… You’ve got Sandstorm, Desert Scavenge… Oh! Resourceful Raider!” Yang pulled the card in question out of Weiss’ hand, releasing her shoulder to do so. “See, now you can take Ruby’s discarded air fleet.”

“Nooooo…” Ruby cried weakly from where she was still sprawled over the table in the wake of her defeat.

“And put it in your hand.”

“Okay…” Weiss still had no idea what was happening but nodded along anyway.

“And since Vacuo warriors have endurance against natural-based hazards you can use sandstorm to disable my ground troops and simultaneously infiltrate my kingdom.” Yang drew back, pointing a threatening finger at Weiss. “Just know I will not forget this declaration of war.” Wait, what declaration of war? She turned to Ruby, who was still sprawled out on the table.

“And this means?”

“You’re just three turns away from conquering Remnant.” She was winning? Yes, everything was falling into place! Take that father, she wasn’t a failure after all!

“Yes! Cower before the might of the Vacuoan army!”

“Trap card.”

Wait, what?

Weiss had risen from her chair about to launch into a long victory speech. Yang held out a card and began shuffling pieces around the board. What was she doing? Some of those were Weiss’. “Your armies have been destroyed.” All of Weiss’ pieces had been swept off the board.

Oh. Weiss dropped back into the chair, she’d failed. Again. “I hate this game of emotions we play.” Before she could start dwelling on her loss or the soft buzzing in her ears, a red mass hopped into her lap.

“Stay strong Weiss! We’ll make it through this together.” Weiss squawked and wrapped her arms around Ruby to prevent her from falling.

“Shut up! Don’t touch me!” Her protests seemed a tad hypocritical as she held the young leader closer. They’d never been this close before, not even in the cave or that movie night. Weiss’ face flushed crimson and she couldn’t see Ruby’s as she’d buried her face into Weiss’ shoulder. Yang was desperately trying to hold back laughter as Weiss shot an icy glare at her.

“Alright Blake, it’s your turn.” Yang finally managed to contain herself and slouched back in her chair. Blake looked up from her scroll, if she was surprised to see Ruby cuddled up on Weiss’ lap in public, she gave no indication of it.

“Oh, um sorry, what am I doing?” She picked up the cards and scrutinised them.

“You’re playing as Vale, trying to conquer the Kingdoms of Remnant.” Yang explained.

“I see…” Blake studied her cards again, although Weiss could see the lack of comprehension in her eyes.

“Hey guys! You mind if I join in?” Alarmed by the presence of someone else, Weiss shoved Ruby off her. The younger girl slithered to the floor and popped back up in her seat looking rather indignant at the interruption.

“Sorry Jaune, we’ve already got four players.” Ruby apologised to Jaune who didn’t look like he was about to leave because of that. Time to break out the big guns.

“Besides, this game requires a level of strategic thinking I doubt _you_ are capable of.” Weiss sniffed, why on Remnant couldn’t this boy take a hint?

“You attacked your own naval fleet two turns ago.” Yang dead-panned. Had she really done that? She’d thought that move had been a masterstroke of her non-existent strategy. She just huffed irritably as tall, blonde and scraggly continued.

“Ha, bring it on, ice queen! I’ll have you know I have been told that I am a natural born leader.” Oh gods, why couldn’t he just leave?

“By who? Your mother?”

“And Pyrrha!” Jaune spluttered, not denying Weiss’ accusation as Pyrrha waved her hello from across the room. “Come on, let me play your hand for a turn.” Jaune wheedled, hands clasped and trying what Weiss could only assume were puppy dog eyes. Well that was disturbing, nothing like when Ruby did them.

“I’m not trusting you with the good citizens of Vacuo!”

Jaune looked indignant at this. “Why not? You’ve trusted me with more important stuff before.”

“Name one thing.” Weiss challenged, arms folded, cards left face up on the table which Yang took the opportunity to none too subtly look at.

“Um, you gave me those notes for Professor Peach’s class before that test last month.” Blake looked displeased by this.

“How come Jaune got to see those? We begged to see them and you refused.” Blake looked… disappointed? And annoyed, that she could tell. As if sensing an impending conflict, Pyrrha rushed over.

“Weiss let Jaune see the notes because I asked her for them and she very kindly agreed.” She hastily tried to appease Blake, jabbing Jaune sharply in the ribs.

“Right. That was why. Um, ladies, I’ll leave you to your battle.” Jaune beat a swift retreat, followed by Pyrrha. Leaving behind an exasperated Weiss and a peeved Blake.

“’Sup losers?” Weiss groaned, as if the day couldn’t get any more tiring, Sun had to show up. “Ruby, Yang, Blake… ice queen.” There was a dull thunk as Weiss’ head dropped to the table.

“Why does everyone keep calling me that?” She mumbled from her position, some people were just so exhausting, and why were they all blonde?

Unperturbed by Weiss, Sun carried on. “I never got a chance to formally introduce you to my old friend.” She looked up, Weiss hadn’t paid much attention to the boy accompanying Sun. He looked nice, his outfit was certainly on point and he was reasonably attractive.

“Hi, I’m Neptune.” The blue-haired boy introduced himself. Despite her exhaustion from dealing with people, Weiss decided it was best if she made a good impression and tried to engage in conversation.

“So Neptune, where are you from?”

“Haven.” He strolled around the table to Weiss. “And I don’t believe I caught your name, snow angel.” Yang had to slap a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from bursting into laughter whilst Ruby smirked. Blake on the other hand looked even more annoyed, although it seemed to be directed more at the sisters now.

“Um, I’m Weiss.” She tried to draw Neptune’s attention away from her teammates’ indiscretion regarding her extra appendages.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He grinned at the group.

“Hey Blake, didn’t take you for the board game playing type.” Sun tried to strike up a conversation with Blake, emphasis on tried.

“I think I’m actually done playing now.” She dropped her card on the table and stalked off. “I’ll see you guys later.”

Suddenly the remaining team RWY were on edge, Blake was leaving again. Was it something she’d done? Weiss could hear the buzzing starting softly.

“So, er, since Blake isn’t playing can I join?” Neptune asked, oblivious to the sudden tension.

“Yes, I don’t really feel like playing another round, Sun you can join. I’ll sit and watch.” Weiss moved over, letting Neptune take her place at the table as Sun sat down opposite. She didn’t pay attention as the cards were dealt and the game began anew, she was too busy trying to think what had made Blake so agitated today. And the last couple of days too, come to think of it, was Weiss a bad friend for not noticing Blake wasn’t happy? The buzzing was getting louder. She should have noticed, paid more attention.

“Weiss, you okay?” Yang quietly whispered. She nodded, perhaps a little too vigorously and Yang settled back into place, still keeping an eye on the heiress as she stewed, trying to ignore the buzzing.

* * *

 

Two hours later, Team RWY were trudging back to their dorm, Ruby looking incredibly smug about Yang’s despondency. Both were arguing over the game, but Weiss wasn’t paying attention. She hoped Blake was in the room, they all needed to talk. Weiss led the bickering sisters into the dorm, thankfully Blake was there, sat at the desk looking out the window.

Shutting the door behind them, Weiss shed her jacket as she crossed the room, dropping it on her bed and spinning to face a swiftly retreating Blake who was just reaching for the door handle.

“Stop.” Blake froze in place, looking slightly guilty at being caught in her attempted flight. “Lately you’ve been quiet, antisocial and moody.”

“Uh, have you met Blake?” Yang chipped in from behind Weiss, which she chose to ignore.

“Which I get is your thing, but you’ve been doing it more than usual. Which quite frankly is unacceptable.” Blake still looked unwilling to talk, time to break out the big guns. If the others could use her own words against then she could use them too. “You made a promise to me, to all of us, that you would let us know if something was wrong. So Blake Belladonna, what is wrong?”

Blake still didn’t answer she refused to meet Weiss’ gaze. Then, a thought, unbidden and unwanted wormed its way into Weiss’ head. “Is it me? Is it about these?” She flapped her wings for emphasis.

“What? No, of course it’s not!” Blake’s head dropped. “I just don’t understand how everyone can be so calm.”

“You’re still thinking about Torchwick?” Ruby asked, moving up beside Weiss whose wings drooped in relief. It wasn’t her this time.

“Torchwick, the White Fang, everything.” Blake just sounded tired, like she’d been carrying the burden of this worry on her own for far too long. “There have been another four Dust robberies in the last three days, people are getting hurt.” Blake withdrew her scroll and showed it to the others, the headline clear. “Something big is happening and no-one is doing anything about it.”

Yang stepping and tried to placate her partner. “Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the huntsmen, I’m sure they can handle it.”

“Well I’m not, they don’t know the White Fang like I do.” This was getting ridiculous, someone had to be sensible here.

“Well between blowing up nightclubs, stopping robberies and fighting for freedom I’m sure you all think you’re ready to go apprehend these ne’er-do-wells.” Ruby scratched her head in confusion as Weiss continued. “So let me be the voice of reason yet again and remind you all that we’re students. We’re not ready to handle this sort of situation.”

“Okay, yeah but…” Ruby tried to interject but Weiss spoke over her.

“But nothing Ruby! We’re not ready!” Her wings flared in agitation. Why couldn’t they see this was a bad idea?

“And we may never be ready!” Blake cut in, bow flexing as her ears tried to flatten in anger. There was a momentary pause as Blake’s angry expression morphed into one of shock, as though she hadn’t expected to shout. Getting a hold of herself, Blake continued in a more measured tone. “Our enemies aren’t just going to sit around and wait for graduation. They’re out there somewhere, planning their next move and none of us know what it is, but it’s coming. Whether we’re ready for it or not.”

Before Weiss could try to rebuke Blake’s admittedly valid point, Ruby spoke up first, arms beginning to flail like they often did when she got excited. “Okay, all in favour of becoming the youngest huntresses to single-handedly take down a corrupt organization plotting against the kingdom of Vale say aye!”

“Yes!” Yang exclaimed pumping her fists. “I love it when you’re feisty.” Blake blushed and looked away nervously.

“I’m in.” She said, they all turned to Weiss expectantly. She sighed deeply.

“Well someone needs to keep you all from getting yourselves injured and I suppose it could be fun.”

“No-one said aye…” Ruby mumbled dejectedly, Weiss just rolled her eyes.

“Aye.” She deadpanned, but the way Ruby lit up managed to coax a smile out of her.

“Alright team, let’s make a plan!” Ruby moved towards Weiss’ stationery supplies as though she was about to grab another binder but gasped suddenly. “Oh no! I left my game in the library. Be right back!”

Ruby darted out of the room and they heard her slam into someone as Weiss hastily shut the door before anyone could walk past and see her.

“We’re doomed.” She sighed, face palming and looking back at Blake and Yang who had moved together and were talking quietly. She supposed there was no one she’d rather be doomed with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well it looks like canon finally caught up with us, or would be the other way around? Regardless, it's time for the events of volume 2. Just a clarification on a difference to canon, Team JNPR do not know Blake is a Faunus yet, I am very sure Faunus Weiss would not tell them that.
> 
> As always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	15. Chapter 15

Many words were used to describe Professor Port’s teaching style and his endless stories. None of them were words like ‘riveting’ or ‘engaging’ or ‘short’. But, ever the dutiful student, Weiss was taking meticulous notes as the professor rambled on. It had been decided that they should wait a few days after classes started again before enacting their plan and now the appointed moment had arrived. Weiss kept glancing at her scroll clock as it ticked towards the end of classes. She could feel slight jitters, they were really going to do this. Not helping was a proposal Weiss had, modifying their plan quite drastically.

“Hey Weiss, y’know maybe after this we could grab a bite to eat.” Speaking of things not helping. “And I’ve got two tickets to the new Spruce Willis movie if you want to make the trip into Vale. It’s supposed to be awesome.” Weiss made no acknowledgement of his words, pen still scribbling away. “And maybe after that we could study together? I mean you’re smart and I’m y’know, not so much.” Couldn’t the boy take a hint?

Thankfully the clock ticked over and a distant bell rang, Weiss immediately started packing up, wanting to get away from Jaune as quickly as possible.

“Weiss? Did you hear me?” She might as well answer, maybe it would get him off her back.

“No, no, no, yes.” She rattled off, not looking at him as she left the room. She did however, hear Yang tell him ’One day’ from behind her. As soon as the blonde entered the corridor, Weiss rounded on her.

“What do you mean ‘one day’? You think I should give him a chance? I’ve made it incredibly clear I’m not interested in his advances.” Yang held up her hands in surrender.

“Woah, sorry princess, I didn’t think you’d hear that.” She at least had the grace to look sheepish about it. “You absolutely don’t have to go on a date with him if you don’t want to. I just felt kinda sorry for the guy, he’s a friend and you’re rather harsh when you turn him down.”

“Well what do you suggest I do? I tried being nicer before but I think he just took it as a sign he was wearing me down.” She groaned loudly as she led the way back to the dorm. “Why doesn’t he get I don’t want to date him, or any man for that matter!” Leading the way, Weiss didn’t notice the enormous grin spread across Yang’s face

“You don’t want to date any guys, huh Weiss?” Yang’s voice was filled with mischief, Weiss span around to face her teammate.

“Yes, and?” Why was Yang so interested in that? And why did Ruby suddenly look like someone had announced a free cookie buffet?

“Does this mean our princess bats for the other team?” Weiss just blankly stared at Yang. “Friend of Sappho’s?” Still nothing. “Oh come on, you’re killing me here, surely you’re not that sheltered.”

Weiss just helplessly turned to Blake who was engrossed in another book. “She’s asking if you’re gay.” The dark haired girl intoned.

“What!” Weiss spluttered. “I am not! What on Remnant gave you that impression?!”

“You literally just said you don’t want to date any men, what other impression am I supposed to get?” Yang smirked and threw an arm around Weiss’ shoulder. “So, has some lucky lady caught your eye?”

“I am not gay Yang, now will you kindly let go!” The shorter girl squirmed out of Yang’s grasp and scowled at her. “I misspoke, what I meant was that I’m not interested in dating right now.”

“Sure ya did princess. Hope it’s nice in that closet you’ve locked yourself in.” Weiss just huffed angrily and whirled around, stalking back to the dorms. As she went, she heard a muffled yelp of pain from Yang and smirked a bit at that.

* * *

 

Weiss was still annnoyed with Yang, despite the latter’s apologies for teasing her. They’d all gotten changed into what Ruby termed their ‘stealth’ outfits. Why they needed ‘stealth’ outfits, Weiss didn’t know, especially since half of them weren’t doing anything that required them to be stealthy.

“Alright girls, todays the day the investigation begins!” Weiss just rolled her eyes at the leader’s enthusiasm.

“I’m glad to see we’re taking this so seriously.”

“Hey, we’ve got a plan. That’s moderately serious.”

“Of course it is.” Weiss wasn’t sure her eyes could roll any harder without causing serious damage to them.

“Right, does everyone remember their roles?” Ruby asked, dropping down from her perch on her bunk.

“You and I will head to the CCT and check the SDC records for any other dust robberies or inconsistencies that haven’t been reported.  Knowing father, he’ll be trying to keep them as quiet as possible, but as a member of the family I should be able to get the records.”

“The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. I should be able to sneak in and hopefully find out what they’re planning.” Weiss shot Blake a look of concern that seemed to go unnoticed.

“I have an old friend on the shady side of town who typically knows everything going on in Vale. Maybe this time I won’t have to set fire to the club to get the information out of him.” Yang preened, Weiss was just mildly disturbed by Yang’s information gathering techniques.

“Great then we’ll meet up near Yang tonight to go over what we found. If there’s no questions…?” Ruby looked expectantly around the group.

“Actually, I did have a proposal to alter the plan slightly.” Weiss said hesitantly, turning to Blake. “I’m concerned about you going to the White Fang rally on your own, what if you’re recognised? You said the meeting’s not until about 7, Ruby and I shouldn’t take too long collecting the information. I thought I could head into Vale after you and provide support.”

Blake looked rather taken aback by Weiss’ suggestion. “Weiss I appreciate the offer, but I can’t ask you to do something like that. You’d be walking into a White Fang rally, filled with Faunus who hate the SDC and everything associated with it. That’d be incredibly dangerous for you.”

“I know that, but I’m a Faunus remember?” Weiss shifted her wings under her jacket for emphasis. “I’ll blend right in.”

Blake looked nervously at Weiss’ determined expression. “Weiss, I hate to break it to you but there’s a few flaws in that plan. Firstly, there aren’t that many avian Faunus around. The fact that no-one would recognise you, even in passing, would be a dead giveaway. And secondly, even wearing a mask, you’re still very distinctly a Schnee, it won’t fool anyone. They’re too familiar with SDC associates for you to sneak in and being a Faunus won’t help with that.”

Weiss deflated. “I suppose… I just don’t want you to be going alone to something that’s so dangerous for you. I’m worried.”

“Well, I could go with Blake!” A voice emanated from the open window. The four spun around in surprise, reaching for their weapons. “’Sup?” Sun was hanging upside down by his tail just outside the window.

“How long have you been there?” Weiss squeaked out, had he heard her? The buzzing roared in her ears only now she could make something out in the noise this time. As if sensing her partner’s distress, Ruby moved beside Weiss and began gently rubbing circles on her back which she relaxed back into, the noise abating slightly.

“Eh, not long. Just enough to hear you’re worried about Blake, which is real sweet of you ice queen.” Thank the gods, he hadn’t heard, Weiss slumped in relief.

“How did you get up there?” Yang tilted her head in confusion.

“Ah, it’s easy; I do it all the time.”

“You do what?! Peep into girl’s dorms?!” Weiss shrieked, clearly she’d been right about him and he was nothing more than a degenerate low-life.

“No, no, no! Climbing trees, I meant climbing trees.” Sun waved his arms frantically, setting him swinging precariously so he swung right way up and into the room. “So, are we _finally_ getting back at that Torchwick guy? It’s been months!” Team RWBY all exchanged glances and came to the unspoken agreement that it was Blake’s job to deal with Sun.

“ _We_ are going to investigate the situation.” Evidently Sun had no understanding of subtle nuances of conversation, so Blake was forced to elaborate. “As a team.”

“Yeah, sorry Sun. We don’t want to get friends involved if we don’t have to.” Ruby backed up Blake.

“Pft, you should always get friends involved. That’s why I brought Neptune!”

“What.”

Sun gestured out the window and they clustered around and stuck their heads out. Sure enough there was Neptune, stood on a very narrow and precarious ledge.

“’Sup?”

“How did you get up here?” Ruby asked, ignoring the blue haired boy’s obvious discomfort.

“I have my ways. Seriously though, can I come in? We’re like _really_ high up right now.” Blake just rolled her eyes and pulled him in.

“Right well, thanks for the visit boys but we’ve got things to do and we’d rather not leave you in our dorm unattended.” Yang gestured towards the door.

“Actually…” Weiss spoke up, she couldn’t believe she was about to suggest this. “Maybe they should come along, Sun can go with Blake as the only other Faunus he should blend in. If Blake’s okay with it?”

The dark-haired girl shuffled nervously. “I don’t know, I don’t want to drag anyone else into this White Fang business.”

“Relax Blake, I can handle myself. It’ll be fine and it’ll reassure the ice queen.” Weiss took the nickname with only a modicum of ill-tempered huffing.

“Okay that’s settled then.” Ruby piped up. “So I’m still with Weiss and Neptune can go with Yang since she’s not got a partner.” She dragged the boy over to Yang, as they passed Weiss he gave her a roguish wink. That gave Weiss an idea, one that would get Yang off her back about the whole gay thing. And it didn’t hurt that Neptune wasn’t unattractive.

“Actually Ruby, why don’t you go with Yang? You are sisters after all.” She suggested innocently, ignoring Ruby’s shrewd glare as she continued to drag Neptune over to Yang.

“But then who’d go with you?”

“Well, I guess Neptune could come with me…” Weiss feigned a casual tone, now she could get closer to Neptune and shut Yang up about that poor choice of words earlier. Too busy wrapped up in her plans, Weiss didn’t notice the glare Ruby shot at Neptune, before it was covered with forced cheer.

“Hahaha, nah!” Wait, what? Weiss could barely protest as Ruby snagged her by the collar and dragged her out of the room. No! Her plans for proving she was normal! She watched as Yang bit back laughter as she waved good bye to the distressed heiress. This was not an auspicious start to the plan at all.

* * *

 

Weiss did manage to lighten up a bit later as they made their way across the grounds towards the CCT. She would have plenty of opportunities to dissuade Yang of her ridiculous notion later, especially if Sun kept hanging around Blake.

“Hey Weiss?” Ruby piped up from beside her.

“Yes Ruby, what is it?”

“Well, we haven’t been alone together in the last few days since the Solstice.” Weiss cocked her head, it hadn’t really occurred to her that that had been the case. “And well, I wanted to say thanks.”

“For what? I haven’t done anything special.”

Ruby sighed deeply. “I wanted to thank you for talking me out of telling you my own thing. You were right, I’m not ready. I just felt super guilty that you were confessing this massive secret to us and I was still hiding something.” Weiss had completely forgotten about that conversation, too caught up in her brief feud with Yang.

“Ruby, please don’t feel guilty about it, or at least try not to. I know it can be hard to not feel guilty for things even if you know you shouldn’t. Besides you’re entitled to have secrets, there’s nothing wrong with that.” Ruby smiled brightly at her partner's reassurance and moved up beside Weiss’ as they emerged into the massive courtyard housing the CCT.

“Wow! I forgot how big the transmit tower looks up close.” Ruby gazed up awe and barely suppressed glee at the monumental tower sat in the centre.

“You should see the one in Atlas.” Weiss couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of smugness in her Atlesian heritage as the pair ambled down the path towards the base of the tower.

“That was the first one, right?”

“Correct.” When Ruby didn’t respond immediately, Weiss decided to capitalise on this and try to impart some knowledge to Ruby. “Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate. It was our gift to the world after the War.” She turned expectantly to Ruby, hoping to be asked for more details. Instead she was met with an evil grin and mockery.

“Ooh, look at me! I’m Weiss, I know facts and I’m sooo clever!” She covered her mouth with her hands, trying to keep herself from laughing too hard at Weiss’ look of indignation.

“Don’t be such a brat.” There was no real venom behind the reprimand, although Weiss did wish Ruby could take learning at least a little bit more seriously. “Besides the only reason we’re here instead of the library is because you wanted to see the tower up close.”

“I know, I know. But it’s just so cool and think of all the technology that went into building it. I’m gonna take a picture.” Weiss watched as Ruby fumbled around in her pouch for her scroll and in her excitement, sent it flying out of her hands. Weiss winced as she heard it hit the ground and skitter away, coming to rest at someone’s feet. A familiar green-eyed and ginger-haired someone.

“Penny!?” Ruby had gone chasing after her scroll and didn’t notice who it was who’d just picked it up until she right up close to her. “Where have you been? We haven’t seen you since that night at the docks and that was months ago!”

“Um I think you’re confu-.” Penny was interrupted by a loud hiccup. Quickly she shoved the scroll into Ruby’s hands and started walking away. “I’ve got to go.”

Weiss tilted her head in confusion, something about that girl and the way she spoke put Weiss on edge. “What was that about?”

“I don’t know.” Ruby had the look of a kicked puppy as she watched the ginger swiftly walk away.

“Ugh, just go, I know you want to.” Weiss grumbled.

“If you’re sure…” Weiss just nodded. “Okay, you make your call, I’ll meet up with you later!” Ruby blurred off leaving a trail of petals drifting behind her. Sighing in annoyance, Weiss walked over to the entrance of the tower. Of course Ruby would insist on coming with her, only to ditch her the moment she saw another girl… Wait, why was she so annoyed by that? Penny was Ruby’s friend, of sorts, why would she be annoyed by her spending time with her friends and trying to find out what’s wrong with them?

Questions for another time, this required her full attention. Weiss strode through the lobby, ignoring the central terminals and making her way into the lift behind it.

“Hello and welcome to the CCT. How may I help you?” Weiss suppressed a shudder at the disembodied voice. She’d never liked those A.I. voices, even as a child. Too clipped and formal. Too much like father.

“I’d like to go to the communications room, please.” However, one must always be polite, even if you’re talking to a slightly creepy robot.

“Absolutely, please present your scroll to verify your identity.” Weiss withdrew her scroll from her jacket and waved it over the sensor. “Perfect, Thank you Miss Schnee.” Again Weiss wanted to shudder, gods she hated these A.I.s. She shook her head to clear it, she needed to focus. Looking into the reflective surface of the lift she practiced a few smiles, none of them looked good enough. Damnit, this needed to be convincing, otherwise father might get involved.

There was a soft ‘ding’ and the doors opened onto a room filled with sectioned-off desks and screens. Weiss stepped out of the lift and approached the front desk where another one of those accursed A.I. helpers materialised.

“Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Transmit centre. How may I help?”

“I need to make a call to the Schnee Company World Headquarters in Atlas.” Weiss avoided looking directly at the projection as it beeped a few times.

“Absolutely, if you would head over to terminal 3, I’ll put you though.”

“Thank you.” Weiss replied politely and walked over to her cubicle and taking a seat. She took a deep breath, this was not going to be fun. As the screen blinked into life, revealing a young-looking brunette. Weiss hoped that meant she was a new hire and inexperienced.

“Thank you for calling the Atlas-.” The woman looked up and saw who was on the other side of the call. “Oh, Miss Schnee. Good afternoon. Would you like me to put you through to your father? I believe your sister is here as well if you wish to speak with her.”

As if she wanted to talk to father, Weiss bit back a scoff. “No, thank you. I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I’ve prepared a list.” She withdrew her scroll once again and docked it with the terminal. The woman looked through the list and back up at Weiss.

“I see… If you don’t mind my asking… What is this for?”

“School project.” Weiss replied quickly, but not too quickly, mustn’t seem suspicious.

The operator looked rather nervous. “Um… There are some sensitive documents on this list ma’am.” Ugh, Weiss hated being ma’amed. No, be annoyed later. Weiss drew herself up slightly and tried to project as much Schnee authority into her voice.

“Well then, I’ll be sure to treat them with care.” The woman still looked rather nervous but she seemed to be complying.

“Right, Very well then. The data is being transferred now.”

“Wonderful, thank you very much. That will be all then.” Weiss moved to stand but the operator called to her.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like me to put you through to your father or anyone else before you go?”

Weiss opened her mouth abut to respond in the negative, when a stray thought slipped across her mind, something Velvet had mentioned weeks ago. “Actually, could you please patch me through to Winter please?”

“Of course Miss Schnee.” The woman fiddled around with some buttons. “Putting you through now.” The screen went blank for a second before being replaced with a very familiar profile. White hair, the shade a perfect match for her own, tied up into a bun. Eyes just a touch darker than hers, expression haughty and proud. She could make out the epaulettes of the Atlesian military style greatcoats Winter wore everywhere just above the cut of the screen. Behind her sister, Weiss could just about read some of the titles of the military histories that she knew filled the bookshelves of Winter’s private study.

“Weiss? It is good to see you.” Weiss could just make out the faint glimmer of happiness in her sister’s eyes.

“It’s good to see you too Winter, I trust you’ve been keeping well?”

The older woman sighed. “As well as I can with father breathing down my neck whenever I’m here.” She gestured behind her. “But that’s not important, how have you been? I haven’t heard from you in months.”

“Oh splendid, I received the top marks in our year in the end of semester exams and-“

“Not that Weiss, I wasn’t asking about your ranking. I’m asking how you’ve been. Are you eating properly and not just salmon all the time? Are you making new friends?” Weiss hadn’t been expecting that. Whenever they’d interacted before it was for training or under close supervision and Winter hadn’t once cared about how she ate. She could use this though, quashing down the feeling of guilt for using her sister like this.

“You’re one to talk about my eating habits, you taught me that salmon is the best fish, I remember someone used used to gorge themselves on it back home.”

“Weiss, you’re deflecting.” Winter looked curiously at her younger sister. “Is something wrong?”

Affecting a look of worry, as though a brave front had been dropped, Weiss replied. “Actually, I’ve been having some difficulty adapting, things are just so different here.”  Winter nodded, concern lining her features. “It’s nothing like Atlas, there are so many different people here, and Faunus. I’ve never even met a Faunus before I came to Beacon.”

“I’m not surprised, father doesn’t employ Faunus on the household staff, not anymore at least.” There was the thread and Weiss was about to pull on it, again ignoring the guilt bubbling away.

“What do you mean not anymore? Was there a Faunus on the staff before?” Winter leaned back in her chair, contemplating Weiss.

“There was one, although his employment was nothing to do with father. He was Klein’s predecessor, Kass if I remember correctly.” Winter paused for a moment in her recollections. “He came with the mansion, grandfather adopted him into the staff after his parents died. He grew up with mother and became the house butler.”

“What happened to him?” Weiss tried to probe gently, this could be it.

“He was fired, a few months before you were born actually. Father said it was because he’d been caught stealing, but I believe it was because father didn’t like how close he was with mother and me.” Winter shrugged. “But I don’t know for sure, I was only seven at the time after all.” She fixed Weiss with a sharp gaze. “So why are you so interested in an old member of the help?”

Whoops, evidently she wasn’t as subtle as she thought, time for an escape. “Sorry Winter, I’ve just noticed the time, I have an appointment I need to get to.”

“I see… Well, goodbye sister.” Winter still had that shrewd look in her eyes as Weiss said her goodbyes and disconnected.

Stuffing her scroll back into her jacket Weiss made for the lift as though Winter was hot on her heels. Ignoring the help desk hologram’s farewells she swept into the lift and breathed a deep sigh as it began to trundle down. As the lift descended, Weiss mulled over what Winter had told her. A butler, a Faunus butler nonetheless, who’d been fired for being too close to mother. If Winter was right about that of course. Could that be him? She’d heard from Blake herself you needed to have at least one Faunus parent and she knew for a fact mother wasn’t.

Thoughts for later, the lift had reached the ground floor. Weiss stepped out and departed the tower, she needed to get into Vale in time for the meet-up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, new chapter time, quite a long one too. I'm not really good at writing witty things for these and I can't really come up with much other than a 'Winter is here' joke so I'll leave it for this one. 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	16. Chapter 16

Weiss continued to mull over her sister’s words as she made her way towards the airdock, considering her next move. She could possibly get a hold of the previous employment records of the staff and check through them for more information on this 'Kass'. Now that she had a better idea of who he was and what he did other than ‘Faunus who oversaw some deliveries’ it would be easy to find his. She’d have to wait a while, requesting more company records so soon after today’s investigation would look suspicious, better to table this for now despite her burning curiosity.

“Hey Weiss!” A familiar voice called out from across the courtyard shaking Weiss out of her planning. She turned and saw Coco striding out across the neatly kept lawn, paying no heed to the ‘Keep off the grass’ signs. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Sure, what did you want?”

“A few things actually, but first, thanks for helping out Velvet last week.” Weiss blushed, hand grasping her arm awkwardly.

“It was nothing, really.” She mumbled.

“Well I think it wasn’t nothing and that brings me onto the next thing, well two things actually, they’re pretty closely linked. I presume you don’t have an outfit for the dance?” Weiss was about to answer but Coco was on a roll. “Thought not, so I took the liberty of preparing something for you, no need to thank me, think of it as me thanking you. And the related thing, Velvet and I are in charge of planning the dance but unfortunately, we’ve been scheduled for an away mission in a couple of days and we’ve been told it might end up a bit longer than planned. So, I was hoping you and Yang could do any of the organising we can’t whilst we’re away.”

It took Weiss a moment to parse Coco’s rapid-fire speech. “Of course, I’d be glad to help, although you really didn’t have to make me anything.” Coco just shrugged.

“Well, I wanted to. I’ll send you both a message with all the details we’ve got so far.” Wait, both of us? Weiss ran through Coco’s words again.

“Hold on, how come you want both me and Yang? Surely you just wanted me to organise it right?”

Coco just laughed. “Sorry princess, if I got only you to organise it, it’d be some kind of masquerade ball or something equally over-the-top and fancy.”

“No it wouldn’t!” Weiss huffed, scratching that idea off the mental list she’d already started compiling.

“Relax, Yang’s there to make it fun for people ya know? And you’re there to keep her in check and make sure she doesn’t go wild or anything, you can do all the organising you want.” She moved to Weis’ side, throwing an arm around Weiss’ shoulders. “Just imagine, order forms for decorations, guest lists, making sure the punch isn’t spiked and the table settings, so many table settings.” Coco waved her arm through the air as though doing so would cause these wonderful things she was describing to Weiss manifest.

“Oh alright, I suppose I _could_ work with Yang on this.” Weiss acquiesced, surely it couldn’t be _that_ hard, could it?

“Great!” Coco released Weiss from her grasp. “Oh, I’ll get Fox or Yatsu to deliver your new outfit tomorrow. I’ve got to run, don’t want to keep Velvs waiting.” The fashionista waved and strode off, heels clicking sharply against the path as she went.

Shaking her head at the odd diversion that had just unfolded, Weiss turned back and continued towards the airdock. As she went, she wondered what sort of doilies would be appropriate for this sort of event.

* * *

 

The airship ride into Vale’s main hub was mercifully quiet, Weiss regularly checked her scroll for any messages from the others.

Nothing.

Weiss fumed silently about Ruby’s lack of communication and seriously considered sending her a strongly worded message. She restrained herself however as she stepped out onto the main concourse.

Various stores lined the street, from small mom-and-pop stores selling all sorts of niche items to the large chrome and glass monstrosity that was the official SDC outlet. Grimacing at the hideous Atlesian style building, Weiss turned on her heel and walked in the other direction. Yang’s club and the White Fang meet were both downtown, which Weiss had gathered was a more economically deprived area. Blake had once mentioned that most of the Faunus in Vale lived there, which Weiss supposed would make it a good recruiting ground for the Fang.

She slowly made her way down the street, stopping occasionally to look in a store’s window. She was running low on stationery supplies after Ruby’s raid on them, but that could wait for another time. Her thoughts were interrupted by her scroll buzzing, extracting it and checking the ID, Weiss was surprised to see Blake calling the entire team. She tapped the answer button and held it up to her ear, she regretted this immediately as Blake was shouting down the line.

“Everyone if you can hear me, we need back-.” Blake’s voice was cut off by an even louder yell.

“HEEEELLLLP!” Weiss rolled her eyes, starting to jog towards downtown as Sun kept screaming. “Big robot! It’s big! Really big!” Very descriptive Sun, thank you. She stopped paying attention to the monkey Faunus’ panicked ramblings as she rounded the corner and headed toward the freeways that ran over downtown.

“Where are you guys?” Yang’s voice crackled from the device. Thank you, Yang, a useful contribution.

“HURRY!” Not thank you, Sun, a very useless one.

“We’re headed toward the freeway.” Blake seemed to have regained control of her scroll. “Northbound.” That meant they were headed right in her direction. Good, she could work with that. Spying one of the support pillars, Weiss drew Myrtenaster, switching to gravity dust and conjured a line of glyphs running up the side to the highest road.

“Ruby, how close are you?”

“I’m on the ground, below the roads, I have a plan.”

“Good to know.” Weiss, flicked the scroll over to speaker and tucked it away. Taking a deep breath, she ran headlong at the glyphs and straight up the pillar, launching herself up into the air at the end of the run, and landing on the side of the road.

Ruby’s voice crackled out again. “I can see its trail, Torchwick’s destroying a lot of cars, Weiss if you can knock it off the freeway down to me, we can stop him from hurting anymore civilians.” It was a start, Weiss squinted southward trying to spot this ‘robot’. There, about 500 metres away and closing fast. Damnit Sun, why couldn’t he have said it was an Atlesian Paladin of all things? Weiss could just make out Blake hopping from car to car and Neptune and Sun getting launched off the side of the road.

Thinking quickly, Weiss span the ice Dust chamber to active and hopped onto the edge of the road.

“Blake, get clear!” Closing her eyes, Weiss flipped off the edge, twirling through the air. Might as well make it look good and she landed right in front of the lumbering mech. Spinning on the spot, she stabbed the blade into the tarmac and forced her aura through the sword, praying this would work. A large circle of ice spread across the road, the Paladin couldn’t stop in time and kept barrelling toward her, slipping on the ice and being catapulted over her head and off the road. Perfect.

Blake hopped off her car and ran over to Weiss. “Are you okay?”

“Am I okay? You’re the one who got chased by a war mech.” Weiss was incredulous. “Come on, Ruby’s down there waiting. The pair ran over to the side and leapt off the edge, Weiss noticed Yang doing the same further down the road. The all landed by Ruby who was staring down the mech as it rose to its feet.

“Freezerburn!” Excellent, one of Weiss’ favourites. Unsurprising, as it had been her idea after all, refined somewhat since that fight with Cardin. Stabbing Myrtenaster into the ground once more and channelling her aura, the circle of ice formed again. Withdrawing the blade, she leapt back to watch Yang slam down into the ground and vaporise the ice, leaving a thick cloud of mist.

Under the cover, Weiss began running, circling the mech, she saw targeting lasers, but they seemed confused by the mist. It launched a few shots, none of which made contact as the quartet circled the Paladin. A lucky shot almost hit Blake and Yang as Ruby launched herself out of the mist taking a large slice at the cockpit.

“Checkmate!” That was her cue, joining Blake, they both darted forward under the Paladin slicing at the legs with quick, precise strikes. The mech stumbled back to avoid a hit and Weiss took the opening to jump straight up, and stab Myrtenaster into one of the sensors. She withdrew the blade and conjured a quick glyph to backflip off. She didn’t quite stick the landing, stumbling slightly as she over-rotated.

Glancing up she saw Blake still at the Paladin’s feet, it raised one gigantic foot to stomp on Blake only to meet nothing as Weiss summoned another glyph underneath Blake to launch her back towards Weiss and out of harm’s way.

Their respite was short-lived as compartments on the shoulders of the mech opened and launched maybe half a dozen missiles. Reacting instinctively, Weiss and Blake started backflipping away, feeling the shockwaves of the explosions as they impacted, just missing the pair.

Something was off, Weiss could feel herself over-rotating again. She needed to correct it quickly or else she’d end up falling and be a sitting duck, well albatross. On the next handspring, Weiss pushed hard, launching herself up into the air to regain control of the flips. She realised her mistake when she heard the sizzle of charging pulse cannons. She was just able to bring Myrtenaster up to block, but was sent careening backwards through the air. Time seemed to slow for a brief second as Weiss saw the missile bays launch a fresh salvo directly at Blake. Praying it would work, Weiss launched a time dilation glyph under Blake.

She didn’t see the results as she crashed, head smacking hard into the ground. Stunned, she just lay there, hearing muffled sounds of explosions and Ruby shout something. Moaning quietly in pain, Weiss managed to sit up in time to see Ruby and Blake come tumbling out of the sky and shear off one of the paladin’s arms. A yellow blur sped out from somewhere, hopped up onto the paladin and began hammering punches into the machine. After failing to reach what must be Yang, the mech suddenly launched itself backwards, directly through two support pillars and leaving Yang smashed into a third. Weiss staggered to her feet, trying to find Myrtenaster but it was nowhere to be seen.

Looking around frantically she caught out of the corner of her eye, the paladin turning to face Yang. Its remaining fist raised and punched her straight though the last pillar, collapsing it and sending Yang crashing to the ground several yards away.

“Yang!” Blake’s scream of fear cut though the sounds of crumbling concrete and the ominous noises of a bridge now missing three of its supports. Weiss could hear Ruby telling Blake something as Weiss continued to look for her blade.

There! She darted forward and snatched up the blade turning to see Yang completely shatter the other arm of the paladin. Okay, that was new. Yang wasn’t able to dodge the retaliatory kick which sent her flying backwards past Blake and Ruby.

“Bumblebee!” Blake sprang into action as Weiss moved to form up with Ruby. The blonde comet that was Yang sailed around in a deadly arc that was neatly dodged by the armless mech.

“We have to slow it down!” Ruby shouted to no-one in particular.

“And how do you propose we do that exactly?” Weiss was running through in her mind all the ways she could think of when Ruby interrupted.

“Ice Flower!” That would work, twisting the barrel back to Ice Dust once again. This time Weiss channelled her semblance and generated three spinning glyphs in front of Crescent Rose. This had taken some practice to get right, she hoped it would pay off as she focused on maintaining the correct amount of ice Dust for each glyph. The retort of the first shot set Weiss’ teeth on edge, but it worked as the ice infused bullet impacted the paladin, forming a large chunk of ice. Several more bullets found their mark freezing the mech in place as Yang came swinging round again. This time it couldn’t dodge and Yang’s impact completely destroyed the machine sending bits of it flying as well as a familiar white-coated ruffian.

Roman staggered to his feet and looked at the destruction surrounding him. “Ugh! I just got this thing cleaned!” Weiss and the others moved up to Yang who wasn’t in the mood for waiting and instead just launched an explosive round at the thief. Only the shot didn’t connect, a small girl seemed to appear from nowhere to drop in front of the criminal and deflected the attack with a parasol of all things.

“Ah Neo, nice of you to finally show up.” Torchwick grumbled, turning to team RWBY. “Ladies, ice queen.”

“Hey!” Why did everyone keep calling her that?

“Always a pleasure.” He smarmily tipped his hat whilst the small brown and pink haired girl dropped into a sloppy curtsy, did no-one teach criminals manners? With a scream of rage, Yang threw herself forward at the pair and slammed a fist into them. Only for them to shatter as though they were made of glass.

The distant whine of an engine caught their attention and they turned to watch Torchwick and the Neo girl escape in a Bullhead. Yang swore very loudly, but she seemed to have calmed down from her rage.

“Well, that could have gone worse.” Weiss ventured, looking up nervously at the unstable bridge.

“I suppose…” Blake mumbled.

Yang spoke up “We should leave before the cops get here and start asking questions.” Blake nodded vigorously, looking worried at the idea of being interrogated by the police. “I need to go grab Bumblebee, make sure she’s alright. Blake, you want a lift back?” The dark haired girl nodded again and set off after Yang who began jogging towards the entrance to the freeway.

“Sooooo…” Ruby swayed on the spot awkwardly. “I guess we should go huh?” Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, her head still throbbing from the impact.

“Yes, we should. Come on.” Weiss quickly led the way as they left the scene of the battle, hearing the sounds of sirens converging behind them as they ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter! And I'm not all that fond of it, I don't like recounting canon, especially the fights, without putting more of my own spin or story into it and I feel the chapter is the most guilty of being too close to canon. That being said, this chapter is necessary as set up for a few things. Don't worry though, the next few chapters are more original material.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	17. Chapter 17

Blake and Yang met the red and white pair at the airdock, having made it back to Beacon ahead of them thanks to Yang’s barely legal bike. The four of them slowly made their way towards their dorm in the twilight, discussing the events of that evening.

“The White Fang actually let a Human into their rally and they _listened_ to him?” Weiss asked incredulously, Blake just nodded dejectedly.

“They’re arming themselves and he’s helping, we never had equipment as advanced as that Paladin.” She said morosely

“Well, Junior was a bust, he had no idea about what Torchwick was up to.” Yang grumbled, annoyed her contribution hadn’t panned out, Ruby patted her sister on the shoulder in comfort.

“Well we do have the records from the SDC! We do have those, right Weiss?” The girl in question simply rolled her eyes.

“Of course I have them. You’d know this if you’d come with me.”

“Wait, wait, wait. You weren’t with Weiss? Where were you?” Yang asked, perplexed and stifling a yawn.

“She went off to chase that Penny girl.” Weiss muttered, somewhat bitterly and shooting Ruby a venomous look.

Yang inhaled, air hissing over her teeth. “Ooookaaay… I ain’t touching that. Anyway, you’re going to go over those records soon right? You want a hand?”

“Actually, I’d prefer it if I were to go over them on my own. There’s some sensitive information in here and I should keep it confidential. Sorry.” Weiss tacked on the apology at Blake’s irked expression which was quickly replaced with a carefully neutral gaze.

“You sure? ‘Cause I reckon if we go over it together then we won’t miss anything.” Yang pressed on.

Weiss was too tired to deal with this right now. “Yang, do you have any idea how much of a risk I took to get these? I can’t let them fall into the wrong hands.”

“Uh, girls.” Ruby tugged at Weiss’ sleeve but she and Yang were too busy arguing.

“Oh so my hands are the wrong hands are they? What, you don’t trust or something? Even after all we’ve done together, after you told us about your wings, you don’t trust me?!”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it Yang Xiao Long!”

“Girls!” Blake’s voice cut into the argument and the pair rounded on her.

“What!” They both immediately regretted it as Blake shrank back into herself and just pointed ahead of them. Stood blocking the entrance to the dorm were Professor Goodwitch, looking incredibly stern and disapproving, and Professor Ozpin himself.

“Oh.” Yang said, dumbstruck.

“’Oh’ indeed Miss Xiao Long.” Professor Goodwitch raised an eyebrow at the dusty and still slightly rubble covered girls. “Come with us.” She turned on her heel and marched off, heels clicking menacingly whilst Professor Ozpin followed a little slower. The four exchanged nervous glances but did as instructed and followed the professors as they lead them to the lift they knew led to Professor Ozpin’s office.

The ride up was unnervingly quiet, save for the rather incongruous easy listening music of the lift. Ruby kept fidgeting and Blake’s uncovered ears twisted back and forth in agitation. With a soft ‘ding’ the lift came to a halt and the doors slid open, revealing a single desk sat in the centre of the room.

Ozpin led the way inside and settled himself into his chair whilst Goodwitch stood to his right leaving the four girls to stand awkwardly in front of the desk.

“It seems you four have had a rather eventful evening.” Ozpin began, flipping open a folder on his desk. “According to this preliminary report, a stolen Atlesian Paladin chased a couple of Faunus through Downtown Vale and up onto the freeway, where it was sent flying off the road by an unexpected ice slick.” He eyed Weiss who blushed deeply. “From there on the report is rather vague, only reports of gunfire and destruction reported by bystanders. Up until when police arrived at the scene and found the Paladin thoroughly dismantled and no evidence of its pilot or the ones responsible for its destruction.” Ozpin closed the folder and steepled his fingers, eyeing the four impassively.

“Why did you want to see us then Professor? The report doesn’t seem to make any reference to the individuals involved in the event.” Weiss asked politely, perhaps she could wriggle them out of trouble.

“Because, Miss Schnee, we were able to pull some traffic cam footage.” Professor Goodwitch tapped at her scroll a few times and rotated it to show the four a video of Blake and Sun leaping across some cars, shortly followed by the Paladin and Yang and Neptune on Bumblebee. “Would you like to try that again?” Weiss elected to remain silent.

“So, could one of you please explain to me how you managed to get involved in another attempt at vigilante justice not three months after the last?” Ozpin wearily inquired. The team looked between each other, trying to have a silent conversation over who should answer. Needless to say, they weren’t very good at it and had to resort to rock-paper-scissors, much to the exasperation of Goodwitch.

“Well, we thought that the police and hunters wouldn’t mind having the extra help in stopping Torchwick and the White Fang and that it would be good for our studies. You know, gets some hands-on field experience.” Ruby grinning awkwardly.

“And now with your interference Torchwick will almost certainly go to ground and be even harder to track down.” Goodwitch sighed, deflating. “Girls you’re just students, this is too dangerous and-.”

Ozpin held up a hand to silence the professor. “Girls, I have no doubt of your capabilities, however, whilst you attend Beacon academy you are under our care. It would be vastly irresponsible for us to let our students go on unsanctioned missions against known terrorist organisations.” He steepled his fingers once again. “Fortunately, there has been minimal damage done and no casualties, but we are still obliged to punish the four of you.”

Weiss inhaled sharply, punished? No, no, no! This couldn’t be happening, she was a model student, not some degenerate low-life. Buzzing filled her ears, her breathing sped up. She couldn’t be punished, what if father found out? Weiss dug her nails hard into her hands, trying to focus on something, she would not break down in front of the teachers. She would _not_ break down in front of the teachers. Her silent mantra whirled through her head as the nails bit harder into her palms.

“Weiss? Are you alright?” Ruby’s soft whisper cut through the noise, a gentle nudge bringing Weiss back to herself. She willed her breathing to slow, unclenching her fists.

“I’m fine, thank you Ruby.” Weiss murmured, returning her attention to the professors. She could still hear the buzzing and she was still breathing faster than normal, but she could ignore it for now. Ozpin and Goodwitch were talking in hushed voices and thankfully hadn’t seemed to notice Weiss’ distress. Blake and Yang on the other hand, were sneaking sympathetic glances? Yes, that was definitely sympathy, she was getting better at this.

“Alright girls, we’ve come to a decision.” Weiss’ breathing sped up again, they were going to be expelled she knew it. She’d be forced back to Atlas; she’d have to go home and she’d have to do _that_ again to stay safe. Panic clawed at the inside of her throat, the buzzing almost completely muffling Professor Ozpin’s next words.

“The four of you are confined to academy grounds for the next week.” Was that it? Weiss heard Yang let out a massive sigh as the buzzing slowly subsided. “Be aware that Professor Goodwitch here was inclined towards a much harsher punishment, she would have had the four of you banned from the dance next week and maybe even barred from competing in the festival. But I feel confinement to the grounds is punishment enough and should be sufficient to keep the four of you out of trouble.” His eyes hardened and Weiss fought the urge to recoil slightly. “You should all know I will not be so lenient next time. You are dismissed.”

Hurriedly, the team scurried into the lift and began their descent, once again subjected to the scourge that is easy listening.

“Well… That could’ve gone worse.” Yang spoke up, however her attempt to inject some semblance of cheer into the group was stymied by her lethargy.

“I suppose…” Ruby mumbled, rubbing soothing circles on Weiss’ back as her breathing slowly returned to normal.

“Ah jeez, sorry. Weiss, you okay? You weren’t looking so hot back there.”

“I’m fine thank you Yang, just tired. It’s been a long day.” Yang didn’t look as though she bought it, but had enough tact not to call it out.

“Yeah, you took a nasty shot earlier as well.” Weiss just shrugged in response, she’d been hit harder.

“Well, I guess that’s the end of the investigation then.” Ruby sighed, looking deeply disappointed. Weiss just rolled her eyes.

“Oh it’s far from over Ruby.”

The brunette looked confused as they exited the lift. “What do you mean? Professor Ozpin forbade us from looking into this anymore.”

“He forbade us from performing any _unsanctioned_ missions. If we can persuade the faculty to sanction an operation that somehow got involved with this, it would be perfectly within the rules.”

“But that could take weeks.” Blake looked distinctly unhappy at the turn of events. “And it’ll be too late by then.”

“Look Blake, maybe this can be a good thing. We take a bit of time to go over the stuff Weiss got, we come up with a better strategy.” Ruby tried to reassure Blake but the Faunus looked unconvinced.

“Can we just go to sleep and sort things out in the morning?” Yang stepped in to placate the pair, stifling another yawn whilst Ruby nodded in agreement. Wearily, the four made their way to their dorm room. Once there, Blake meandered over to the bookcase as Yang, evidently not caring about the others, just shed her clothes on the way to her bunk and crawled in. Seconds later, she was snoring away, dead to the world.

“She gets like this if she uses her semblance a lot.” Ruby told the others in a sotto voice, trying not to disturb her sleeping sister. Weiss just sighed in exasperation and began picking up Yang’s discarded clothing. “Uh Blake, you okay?” Weiss looked up at the dark-haired girl. She’d frozen in place by the shelves, book pulled halfway out and a deep blush adorning her features as she stared unblinking up at Yang’s bunk.

Slowly and without speaking, she replaced the book and retrieved another with an oddly familiar cover of two women embracing and disappeared into the bathroom. Weiss just looked at Ruby and shrugged, nonplussed by Blake’s strange behaviour as she heard the very faint sound of the shower being turned on. Ruby on the other hand, was swivelling back and forth between the bathroom door and her sister’s bunk, jaw wide open. Now utterly perplexed by her teammates’ behaviour, Weiss just shook her head and set about collecting her nightgown and hanging up her jacket, finally able to let her wings out after a long day.

“Is Blake going to be long? Is she even getting changed?” Weiss hadn’t seen Blake take her yukata into the bathroom with her.

“Oh, um I think Blake might be a little while in there!” Ruby squawked, flailing her arms in a panic. “I’ll go stand outside so you can get changed.”

“Ruby, it makes more sense for me to leave the room first.” She flapped her wings. “I am not going out there in just my night clothes and jacket. Just knock on the door when you’re finished.” Weiss pulled her jacket back on and slipped out of the room and into the dark corridor. Technically she was breaking curfew by being out here but it was fine, the professors wouldn’t be performing their next round for another twenty minutes.

Slowly, she leaned back against the wall and slid down onto the floor. Closing her eyes, Weiss began sifting through the day’s events. All in all, she supposed it had been a success. They had achieved more than half their goals and destroyed some of Torchwick’s stolen tech, not to mention she’d had managed to score some useful information about her family. Winter’s suspicion was slightly worrying though, not that Weiss was afraid she’d disown her for being a Faunus. They both knew people weren’t to blame for the circumstances of their birth, no matter what father said. That said, she would much rather tell Winter about this herself than have her find out through some other means.

There was a soft knock at the door and Weiss stood and stepped inside, allowing Ruby in her usual rose print bottoms and over-sized t-shirt to slip past and into the corridor. Letting the door click shut, Weiss quietly slipped off her jacket and hung it up before retrieving her nightgown. She wouldn’t have minded changing in the same room as Ruby, so long as she didn’t peek. She’d only hidden away for fear of her scars or regrowing wings being seen, although she had also noticed Ruby preferred changing alone as well. Probably because she was younger, it didn’t look like puberty had hit her yet and she was embarrassed about it. But never mind Ruby’s more minor eccentricities, Weiss slipped on the nightgown, struggling a little to get the wings through the holes in the back.

Finally she took off her tiara and set it aside as she walked over to the door to let Ruby back in. With the whole team in the room, Ruby locked the door behind them and went to sit at her desk, watching the bathroom door.

“Aren’t you going to bed?” Weiss asked, slipping into her bunk.

“Nah, I just need the bathroom so I’ve gotta wait for Blake.” Ruby waved her off before returning her attention to the door.

“Sure, good night then Ruby.” Despite the lights being on still Weiss already felt the exhaustion of the day getting to her. As she was drifting off, she thought she heard a door open and some muffled conversation. However she paid it no mind, it had been a long day and Weiss _really_ wanted to sleep.

* * *

 

As usual, Weiss woke up early the next day, pulled from her slumber by her alarm. She stretched out her wings, causing her to overbalance and unceremoniously fall onto the floor. Cursing softly, Weiss crawled over to her nightstand and turned off the alarm before collapsing back onto the floor. She had regrets, many regrets. Chief amongst which was not planning their investigation for a Friday evening so they wouldn’t have classes the next day.

Groaning, she hauled herself to her feet and walked over to the dresser to retrieve her uniform and shower caddy. None of the others were awake yet, but that was fine, they had another hour before they would even begin to run late. Slipping into the bathroom, Weiss quickly went about her morning routine, which now included checking over her wings after one particularly uncomfortable day when she hadn’t and had been stuck with several feathers painfully out of place.

Leaving off her jacket for the time being, Weiss exited the bathroom to find, much to her surprise, the rest of the team sat on the lower bunks.

“Weiss! We were waiting for you.” Ruby patted the bed beside her and Weiss sat down, looking warily at the three.

“Why were you waiting for me?” Suspicion tinging her voice, could it be about that thing in Ozpin’s office?

“Team meeting, remember? Last night we said we’d talk in the morning, before _someone_ decided to strip in front of their poor, now mentally-scarred sister and go to bed.” Ruby gave Yang a hard look which the blonde returned coolly. Thankfully Yang had put on a dressing gown for the conversation, although Weiss could still make out the ample amounts of cleavage still on show.

“Right, so taking stock of the results of last night we have SDC records to go through and Blake got some info on where the White Fang are operating as well as some of the stuff they’ve got.” Ruby continued, ticking off the items on her fingers.

Blake nodded in agreement. “Right, Torchwick said several members have moved to a new operation in the southeast, somewhere outside the city.” She looked between the other three. “I propose we take a day or two to prepare and then we head out and hit this operation.”

Yang shifted uneasily at this suggestion and Ruby suddenly became very interested in a spot on the ceiling. Weiss sighed deeply, once again it was up to her to be the voice of reason. “Blake, you heard Ozpin, who knows what he’ll do to us if we get caught again.”

“Then we won’t get caught.” Blake stated simply, staring down Weiss.

“You can’t know that and I guarantee they’ll be keeping a closer eye on us now. Also did you forget we’ve been confined to the Beacon for the next week? We’d be disobeying a direct order.”

“Also we’ve got lessons and stuff.” Ruby piped up, finally giving Weiss some support. “We can’t just skip out on that, our grades will suffer.”

“Our grades? That doesn’t matter. People are getting hurt and the longer we leave it the more likely it is they make their move or our information becomes too old to be useful.” Blake’s eyes burned as she looked desperately at the red and white pair, imploring them to listen to her. “Yang? What about you?” She turned to face her partner.

“Blake… I hate to say it, but I agree with them. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I don’t think we can just go charging in guns blazing, especially not whilst we’re being punished.” For a moment, Weiss thought she saw a look of hurt flash across Blake’s face, her mouth opening to argue. But then her eyes dulled and her face fell into a mask of cool detachment, jaw clicking shut.

“Of course, if that’s what you think.” Without another word, she stood up and walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind her, leaving the other three watching after her in bewilderment.

Weiss broke the silence. “So, what was that?” Both Yang and Ruby shrugged.

“I’ll talk to her later.” Yang reassured the two, glancing over at the bathroom door.

“You two should get ready, we’ve got classes today remember?” The sisters nodded and set about collecting various items when they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Hey, Anybody in there? It’s Fox, I’ve got something for Weiss from Coco!” Shrugging, Ruby walked over to the door and began to open it, whilst Weiss was stood in the middle of the room, wings fully exposed. Panicking, Weiss dove behind the door as Ruby opened it.

“Hey uh, Fox.” The young leader greeted the older student. “You want to come in or something?” She did not notice Weiss, huddled up behind the door shaking her head violently.

“No thanks, just dropping this off. See ya.” Her handed Ruby a suit bag and walked off without another word. Ruby shut the door behind him and came face to face with an enraged Weiss.

“What do you think you were doing!?” She shrieked. “Inviting him in like that? My wings are out!” They flapped in agitation as she continued her tirade. “What if he’d seen?”

“Uh, Weiss. Fox is blind.” Ruby spoke up timidly, bringing Weiss screeching to a halt.

“What?”

“Fox is blind, so I figured it’d be fine.” Ruby scuffed her foot against the carpet. “Sorry though, I should’ve been more careful.” Weiss shook her head, distinctly calmer now.

“And I’m sorry I shouted at you, but please, just be careful. I need these to stay a secret.”

“So what’s Coco got for you?” Weiss jumped, she’d forgotten Yang was still in the room.

“Oh, something for the dance next week. Which reminds me.”  Weiss was surprised it had skipped her mind, but she supposed being attacked by a war mech would do that to you. “CFVY’s away mission next week might overrun and Coco asked me to organise it in their absence.” Weiss took a deep breath, praying she wouldn’t regret this. “And she also wanted you to help.”

“Sweet! This is going to be the most awesome party ever, fog machines, DJ, spiked punch.” Yang grinned in delight as Weiss’ jaw dropped in horror.

“No! No. No. No! We are not having fog machines and we are most certainly not spiking the punch!” Weiss’ wings flared once again in an attempt to intimidate the much taller girl.

“Aw come on Weiss, lighten up, just stick with me and we’ll plan the best party Beacon has ever seen.” Weiss just rolled her eyes.

“Whatever, I’m going for breakfast. Ruby would you mind hanging that up for me?” Weiss gestured vaguely at the closet as she collected her uniform jacket from her chair and pulled it on, shuffling a little to make sure her wings were comfortable and unnoticeable. “Ruby, are you coming.”

“I uh, kinda need to use the bathroom. Yang?” She turned to her sister.

“I’m waiting for Blake, we’ll meet you down there. Don’t worry, we won’t be late.” Yang waved the heiress off as she sat back down on Blake’s bunk.

“See you down there then, we can discuss the dance later Yang.” Weiss departed the room and headed down for breakfast in a relatively good mood, though she couldn’t quite shake a sense of unease about Blake. Hopefully whatever was troubling her would pass in a day or so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Consequences for you actions, albeit very minor ones, almost as though Ozpin plays favourites. Anyway, things are starting to get interesting and I'm actually quite excited for the next few chapters.  
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	18. Chapter 18

Weiss knew it was petty, but a small part of her couldn’t help feeling a great sense of satisfaction as she watched Cardin and his team getting soundly thrashed by Pyrrha. The larger, more sensible part of her however, was watching Pyrrha’s technique closely. It was almost certain she would make it to the finals and, call her optimistic, but Weiss thought RWBY also had a good chance of making it there as well. It seemed that Pyrrha wasn’t using any of her more advanced techniques though, CRDL weren’t worth the effort it seemed.

Weiss sighed and slumped back in her seat, it had been a few days since their encounter with Torchwick and they were still under ‘house arrest’ as Yang put it. Fortunately, she’d had other distractions, she’d read over the records she’d acquired and had come to a few conclusions that made her rather uneasy, not all of them related to the dust thefts either. In addition, Coco’s prediction had turned out to be correct and CFVY’s away mission had overrun, leaving her and Yang to finish planning the dance. It had been… challenging, to say the least.

She and Yang had very different ideas of what a dance consisted of. Weiss understood them to be lavish affairs, caviar and champagne. Yang on the other hand, had wanted something more akin to a ‘rave’, something Weiss had to look up and promptly wished she hadn’t. But at least they’d come to something of an agreement on the fog machine.

“And that’s the match.”

Weiss looked up and groaned, she’d missed the final moments of the fight. It must have been something though, as Cardin was lying moaning on the floor.

“You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament Miss Nikos, very well done.” Professor Goodwitch stepped around the scattered bodies of CRDL to the front of the arena. “Now, we have time for one more match, any volunteers?” None were apparent, so Goodwitch started flicking through her scroll. “Miss Belladonna, you’ve been rather docile the last few classes.”

Weiss looked over at Blake who’d snapped her book shut and was staring wide-eyed and slightly panicked at the professor. She looked an absolute mess, her hair was unkempt, bags under her eyes and her normally perfectly aligned bow was crooked.

Weiss kicked herself mentally for not noticing this sooner, but she’d been wrapped up in doilies and planning to really pay attention to the rest of the team other than Yang.

“I’ll do it.” A grey-haired boy a few seats above Ruby interrupted, hand raised. Weiss vaguely recognised him, she’d seen him around a few times. He was from Haven, probably, Ruby mentioned running into him a few times. Probably literally, given her rather klutzy tendencies. Although Weiss couldn’t remember his name for the life of her.

“Mercury, isn’t it?” Ah yes, that was it. “Let’s find you an opponent…” Goodwitch’s eyes returned to Blake.

“Actually, I’d rather fight Miss Nikos.” Mercury’s gaze fixed on Pyrrha, a cocky grin flashing across his face.

“Miss Nikos has just finished a bout. I suggest you select another opponent.” Professor Goodwitch looked back down at her scroll.

“No, no. It’s fine.” Weiss sighed a little, she’d always thought Pyrrha was a bit too accommodating at times.

“Well if you’re sure…” Goodwitch began queuing up the next match. “And boys, do try to peel yourselves off the ground before the next match. We don’t want another incident like last week.”

Whilst Mercury was preparing for the fight, Weiss took the opportunity to slide over to Blake who’d buried herself in her book again. “Blake, are you alright?”

The cat Faunus gave her a sharp look. “I’m fine.”

“Blake, there’s no nice way of saying this, but you look terrible.” Okay, so there probably were nicer ways of saying that, but bluntness had a way of getting through to people.

“Well, sorry I’ve been busy whilst you’ve been playing with doilies.” Blake spat back, ears trying to fold back in anger. Again, her eyes widened in surprise at how forceful she’d been and flinched back momentarily. But she managed to keep the momentum going. “Someone on this team needs to have their priorities straight.” Weiss could feel her wings trying to flare in retaliation. The pair were so engrossed in their argument, they hadn’t noticed the fight had started or the concerned looks Ruby and Yang were giving them from Weiss’ other side.

“Their priorities straight? You don’t sleep, you barely eat and your grades are slipping.” Weiss hissed, trying to keep her voice low so they wouldn’t be overheard.

“Grades don’t matter, people’s lives are at stake.” Blake muttered, now refusing to meet Weiss’s eyes.

“And you getting detention won’t help anyone.”

The arguing pair were jerked back to reality by a loud call from the arena “I forfeit!” With class over, students started filtering out. Blake immediately stood, tucking her book away.

“Blake Belladonna, don’t you walk away from me like that!” Weiss warned as the dark-haired girl sped off. She didn’t respond so Weiss hastily snatched up her things and darted after her, nearly bumping into Mercury and his green-haired friend as she left.

“I’m not interested in going to some silly dance, I would’ve thought you of all people would understand!” Just off to the side of the entrance Blake was shouting at Sun. Weiss was stunned, she hadn’t heard Blake yell that loudly in months. She was too shocked to move as Blake stalked off in the direction of the dorms.

“Hey Weiss! What was that about?” Ruby and Yang had finally managed to catch up and watched the forlorn looking Sun wander back to his team.

“I have no idea. I forgot Blake could get like that.”

“Yeah, last time she was sort of like that was back when you and she were fighting over the whole Faunus thing. But I thought she’d mellowed out.” Ruby mused looking in the direction Blake went.

Yang however, looked sceptical. “Maybe…”

“Anything you’d like to share with the class?” Weiss asked, leading the way after Blake.

“Just a thought.” Yang shrugged. “Probably nothing.” Weiss could tell Yang was lying, but didn’t press, they needed to deal with Blake and luckily, she had a plan.

* * *

 

“You what?” Blake deadpanned, looking up at the other three from her bunk.

“We want you to go to the dance.” Okay, so maybe the plan wasn’t much of a plan, more like a small percentage of a plan which Yang had referred to as barely a concept. “You can barely keep your eyes open, please just take one night off to relax and recharge.”

“This is important!”

“We know, it’s not like we’ve stopped working on this.”

“Thanks to you and Sun.” Blake looked away guiltily at Ruby’s mention of the monkey Faunus. “We know they’re operating out of southeast Vale.”

“And the SDC records I acquired indicated that Vale is the primary target for Dust robberies the last few months.” Weiss continued. “Not to mention the missing military tech.”

“But there’s still unanswered questions.” Blake sat up but refused to meet their eyes.

“And like I said, you can barely keep your eyes open, you’ll find nothing in this state.” Ruby nodded vigorously behind her. “ _And_ , since Yang and I have been finishing up the planning we can make sure you’ll have the perfect night.”

“Then, once you’ve had your perfect night we can get back to the search, ready and rested.” Yang chipped in.

“Please Blake.” Weiss implored. “With all this work you’ve been doing, you deserve to take a night off.”

It was like a switch had been flipped. Blake’s head snapped up, pupils blown wide, her breathing sped up and her face turned ashen.

“I-I have to go.” She just about choked out. Pushing past the rest of the team and bolting from the room, slamming the door shut behind her. Weiss was about to start after her when a firm hand on her shoulder held her.

“Let her go Weiss. She needs some time alone.” Yang murmured, eyes fixed on the door and looking distinctly worried.

“I didn’t mean for that to happen. What did I say?” Weiss could feel panic clawing up her throat, that familiar buzz growing in her ears. She had to find Blake, make sure she was okay.

“Shush Weiss, please just relax.” Ruby started rubbing those calming circles into Weiss back. Her wings drooped at her partner’s touch. “Come sit down.” Weiss allowed herself to be guided down onto her bunk where Ruby joined her a moment later. Slowly the panic subsided, but the buzzing kept increasing in volume.

“Why do I keep doing this?” Weiss moaned, letting herself fall back onto her bed. “I should just not talk, ever.”

“Oookaaay…” Yang sighed, rubbing her face. “Ruby, why don’t you go take a shower or something?”

“But…” Ruby gestured at Weiss who had started resorted to burying her face in her pillow and was groaning away.

“Now, Ruby.” Yang’s tone brokered no argument, so Ruby carefully got up and slunk out of the room. Weiss felt her mattress depress as something heavy dropped down behind her. “Okay princess.” Weiss raised her head from the pillow to look up at the blonde seated behind her. “It’s not your fault that Blake got upset, you didn’t know that would happen. If you want, you can apologise later.”

“I don’t understand…” Weiss’ face dropped back into her pillow, voice muffled as she continued. “All I said was that she deserved a night off.”

Yang sighed again. “Yeah, well sometimes even innocuous stuff can affect people.” Weiss just groaned into her pillow, trying to ignore seemingly ever-present buzzing.

“I’m supposed to try to be the best teammate but all I seem to do is upset everyone.”

“Okay, Weiss please look at me.” The smaller girl raised her head and eeped in surprise as Yang pulled her all the way upright. “Don’t let a few incidents get you down. Sure, you were kinda bitchy at the start but now you’re doing so much better now, if you don’t believe me, just ask Rubes.” Weiss nodded absently, looking up at Yang. She cocked her head slightly, actually getting a good look at her, something seemed off…

“Are you okay Yang?”

“What? Me? I’m fine, always am.” She chirped in that tone Weiss had recently learned was more forced than genuine cheer. Before she could follow up, Yang continued. “I’m going to go and see if I can find out where Blake went. Will you be okay on your own?” Weiss nodded. “Right, I’ll see you later.”

Yang stood and stretched out, but her approach to the door was interrupted by a knock. Yang glanced over at Weiss who quickly snagged her jacket and pulled it on. Once it was in place, Yang swung the door open to reveal Jaune holding a guitar.

“Wei~ Oh, Yang. Is Weiss there?” Jaune looked around her hopefully.

“Weiss, it’s for you.” Yang stepped back, allowing Weiss access to the door. Which she promptly shut in Jaune’s face.

“Oh come on!” Jaune’s muffled voice came from the other side of the door. “I promise I won’t sing.” Rolling her eyes, Weiss looked back at Yang who shrugged. Expecting the worst, Weiss opened the door again.

“I lied~!” Weiss’ hand smacked into her face as she resigned herself to her fate. “Weiss Sch-nee! Will you accompany me! To the dance this… Hold on I can get this.” There was an awkward pause in an already incredibly awkward song as Jaune tried to change chords. “Sunday!”

“Are you quite finished?” Weiss prayed it was, that had been the most appalling performance she’d ever seen, including that butchering of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ Ruby had insisted upon performing.

“Yes?” Oh thank the Gods.

“No.” And Weiss slammed the door in Jaune’s face again. She turned around to see Yang looking faintly disapproving. “What?”

“Yeah, we need to work on some of your people skills sometime.”

“I told you, bluntness is the only way to get through to him. Besides he’s most likely only interested in my name or my looks.” Weiss sniffed derisively. “It’s all boys are interested in about me, it’s rather depressing actually. But that’s beside the point. I already have a date in mind.” Oh yes she did, and a brilliant fool proof plan to ensure once and for all she was normal.

Yang just rolled her eyes. “Whatever, I’ll see you later.” Yang brushed past Weiss and out the room, where a hopeful looking Jaune still stood, only to have the door closed in his face once again. Slowly, Weiss walked back over to her bed, fell face first onto it and waited for the day to be over and the buzzing to fade out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, new chapter. I feel kinda bad that I'm piling new angsty stuff and trauma onto Blake even though she's already got loads from canon alone. Really, I feel bad for all of them and what they're going to have to go through later. So that'll be fun.
> 
> As always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	19. Chapter 19

Things with Blake had not improved over the intervening days. She’d returned later that evening, but she’d refused to speak with any of the team, seemingly not noticing Weiss’ profuse apologies. Weiss had been tempted to give up on planning the dance altogether to try to help Blake, but Yang had insisted they keep working on it, somehow under the impression Blake would be attending.

Yang also had Weiss worried, on the surface, she seemed perfectly happy, but after Blake’s flight a few days prior, Weiss could see some cracks in the mask. This thing with Blake was getting to her, to all of them really, even the always happy Ruby was currently slumped in dejection over one of the tables in the hall. Weiss could practically see the dark clouds hanging over her head.

Even if she couldn’t do something for Blake right now, maybe she could help Ruby. Snatching up two swatches of tablecloth, Weiss strode over to her glum partner. Organising things always cheered up Weiss, so getting Ruby involved would surely get her to perk up a little.

“Ruby, could you pick a colour for the tablecloths for me please?” Weiss placed the samples on the table in front of Ruby who looked at them blankly.

“Aren’t they the same?” Oh, she forgot Ruby was rather ignorant to the finer things in life. Not that there was anything wrong with that, Weiss supposed, simplicity did have its place. But that place was not right now.

“No, this one’s cream and this one’s eggshell.” Weiss explained patiently.

“Oh, okay. Cream sounds nice I guess.” Ruby shrugged non-committedly. Sighing, Weiss picked up the sample and walked back over to her planning table. How could her plan not have worked?

“You picked out a dress yet Rubes?” Yang called out from where she was setting up the speakers.

“Eh, what’s the point? It won’t be any fun if the whole team isn’t there.”

“Look, Blake’ll be there, don’t worry.” A few months ago Weiss would’ve thought Yang was in a chipper mood, but now she could clearly hear the forcedness in her voice. This was throwing them all for a loop, she hoped for all their sakes that Yang was right about Blake coming. Weiss gathered up her pile of doilies and started laying them out, still thinking about how Yang could persuade Blake to attend.

“Weiss, I thought we agreed? No doilies!” Yang shouted.

“No, the agreement was: you get your fog machines if I get my doilies.” Weiss shot back, continuing to lay them out.

“The dance is going to have fog machines?” A voice called out from the entrance to the hall. Weiss rounded on them, about to remonstrate them for interrupting their preparations. When she saw it was Neptune and Sun strolling over however, Weiss’ barbed comments retreated.

“Why yes!” Weiss sidled over to Neptune, she needed to get in his good graces, the dance was tomorrow and she needed him to ask her or she’d have to do the unthinkable and ask him herself.

“That’s pretty cool.” Neptune nodded his approval. Excellent! Plan: Seduce Neptune, but not in any kind of icky sex way was progressing well.

“Are you ladies excited for dress-up?” Sun spoke up, ignoring Weiss’ look of disdain.

“Yeah, sure…” Ruby moaned from her table.

“Oh come on Rubes, it’ll be great! I’ll be turning heads all night.” Ruby just looked sceptically up at Yang.

“Yeah, because you love that sort of attention from people.” Ruby’s voice was dripping with sarcasm, much to Weiss’ confusion. Confusion which was heightened by Yang shooting an irritated glare at her sister.

“Soooo… What are you two wearing?” Weiss attempted to steer the conversation away from the oddness that was the two sisters and back to the other two slightly less odd individuals.

“This, duh.” Sun gestured at himself. Scratch that, they were all equally odd. Weiss had to resist the urge to drop her head into her hands. Surely he could not be serious?

“Ignore him, he knows not what he says.” Thankfully Neptune appeared to have better taste than Sun, not that the bar was particularly high on that account though.

“Hey, I grew up in Vacuo before coming to Mistral. It’s not exactly a shirt-and-tie kind of place.” Sun sniffed indignantly.

“Really? Never would’ve guessed.” Yang spoke up, rolling her eyes.

“And what about you snow angel? You got a dress ready?” Neptune redirected towards Weiss who started blushing.

“Um, no actually.” She admitted sheepishly. Damnit, boys don’t like girls who dress or act like boys. Mother had told her that, but she’d never paid attention until now.

“Yeah, Weiss has been on a bit of a suit kick recently, hasn’t worn a dress in ages.” Ruby piped up, glaring at Neptune for some reason.

“Really? Sounds cool, I can’t wait to see it.” The plan wasn’t a failure? Yes! Weiss silently celebrated her victory, unaware of the even more evil glare Ruby was shooting at Neptune until Yang jabbed her in the side hard.

“Hey Yang, is Blake still being all Blake-y?” Yang’s face fell momentarily before the mask of cheer returned.

“Yeah, but don’t worry. Blake will be at the dance tomorrow. Which reminds me, I have an errand to run. See you guys tomorrow.” Yang waved at the boys and ran off out of the hall.

“Yeah, we should probably head out as well, see you girls later.” Sun and Neptune followed after Yang, leaving Ruby and Weiss alone in the hall.

“Do you have any idea what Yang’s planning?”

Ruby shrugged. “Nope.” Weiss shook her head, this sounded like it had all the hallmarks of one of Yang’s hare-brained schemes like the one with the unicycle, the trombone and the length of rubber hose.

“Well, since your sister has abandoned me to set this up by myself, you can help me lay out these doilies.” Weiss thrust a pile at Ruby and busied herself with her own. She had to make it perfect, then if Yang could get Blake to come then everything would be okay.

* * *

 

Later that evening, Weiss was moping. She’d waited anxiously all day for Neptune to ask her to the dance, but he hadn’t. So Weiss had to take matters into her own hands and asked him herself, only to be turned down. At first she’d been angry, how dare he turn her down?! But that had passed rather quickly and now she was alone in the dorm, wondering what she’d done wrong. He’d been flirtatious with her and seemed receptive to her responses, everything should’ve been fine.

“Hey Weiss, you okay?” Weiss looked up from the floor at Ruby, she hadn’t heard her come in. Ruby was now hovering awkwardly over Weiss, like she was trying to work out whether Weiss needed to be talked down from something.

“I’m not having a breakdown if that’s what you mean.” She was actually quite surprised at how well she’d been taking this, general glumness aside. “Just working through some disappointment.”

“You want to talk about it?” Ruby sat down beside Weiss, leaning into her wing.

“I guess, I asked Neptune to the dance and he said no.” She started picking at her nails gloomily.

“Oh. Right.” Weiss looked over at Ruby, she could’ve sworn she heard disappointment in her voice. “So when Yang said you had a date in mind, you meant Neptune.”

“Yes, although I guess I was wrong about him being interested in me. I suppose I’ll have to go alone then.” She sighed deeply, returning to her nails.

“Right… Sorry, I just remembered I need to see Yang about something.” Weiss barely had time to look up as Ruby stood and fled from the room. Groaning, Weiss let her head flop back, staring up at the bottom of Ruby’s bunk. This whole affair was shaping up to be an unmitigated disaster, but the show had to go on. All the students were counting on her to put on the best dance and she wasn’t about to let some interpersonal issues stop her from doing that.

Feeling like she’d wallowed in self-pity enough, Weiss pulled herself up and over to her desk to go over her party notes one last time.

* * *

 

When Blake had returned to the dorm that Saturday evening, she’d looked a lot more relaxed though still didn’t seem to be in the mood for talking. In fact, Weiss hadn’t been able to talk with Yang either as she’d had to rush out early that morning to finish decorating the hall. Yang was supposed to help her with it, but instead she’d received a brief message saying she needed to help Ruby with something. So Weiss had been left with only minutes to spare to get changed into the suit Coco had prepared for her.

It looked good, better than good actually, as she admired herself in the mirror. A sleek pair of tailored trousers, black leather flats and a pure white dress shirt which regrettably, she had to tear two holes in the back of. Fortunately the accompanying tailcoat was just about long enough to cover up her wings, although Weiss needed to bind them with some bandages to stop them from moving and ruffling the coat which was significantly tighter than the jackets she’d been wearing recently. The whole ensemble was completed with a cravat which Weiss had been forced to seek assistance from Ren with. All in all, she thought she cut a rather dashing figure complimented by her on point make-up and her hair gathered up in a low ponytail, having abandoned her usual tiara for the night.

Satisfied with her appearance, Weiss had taken position at the greeter’s stand at the entrance and proceeded to welcome guests to the event. Yang showed up ten minutes after the start looking rather harried and apologising profusely for not helping. Waving off Yang’s apologies, Weiss continued at the stand as Yang entered the hall to ensure everything inside was running smoothly. About half an hour into the dance, two rather surprising guests arrived and Weiss wasn’t sure what was more shocking about the pair that just entered the hall. That _Blake_ was actually attending, or that Sun was wearing something that at least approximated formal wear and a tie of all things.

“Blake, Sun! It’s wonderful you could make it!” Weiss could feel her mood lifting already, Blake looked absolutely radiant, even though Weiss could still make out the shadows under her eyes not quite completely covered up with foundation.

“Yeah, looks like you and Yang have done a great job with the place.” Sun grinned, looking around at the decorations Weiss had painstakingly organised.

“Speaking of, have you seen Yang anywhere?” Blake asked softly, scanning the crowd.

“I think I saw her by the punch bowl.” Weiss gestured vaguely over towards the refreshment table, a frown crossing her face vaguely as she recalled the hours of slaving away on her own making the hall perfect. “I’ll join you a bit later, I have to finish up here.”

Smiling in thanks, Blake led Sun over to where Weiss had pointed and could just make out a blonde mane bobbing amongst the crowd. After a few minutes, Weiss moved off to start making some rounds around the hall. She watched the tail end of Yang finishing a dance with Blake just before Sun moved in and started dancing with Blake. Weiss thought she saw Yang’s face fall as she watched the pair dance before she swiftly walked away. Weiss was about to follow when she was distracted by Nora holding a suspicious looking bottle over by the punch bowl.

It took her a good ten minutes to dissuade Nora from doing whatever it was she was planning on doing to the punch and Yang was nowhere to be seen. Sighing, Weiss started making her way back towards the greeting stand, vaguely wondering where Ruby was, the rest of the team had been accounted for even if Yang had gone missing.

Blake was laughing with Sun and Neptune, Weiss had to quickly force down a flare of irritation at his presence and took some small amount of pleasure from the fact that he also seemed to have come alone. As she approached the greeting stand, she idly wondered why he’d come alone, she’d assumed he’d turned her down because he already had a date. Her thoughts were interrupted by a tap on her shoulder, she turned and came not quite face to face with Ruby. Weiss was forced to take a step back to look at her properly.

She knew Ruby was a bit taller than her, since Weiss had stopped wearing heels with her suits Ruby had about two inches on her. But Ruby wearing heels was a good 5 inches taller than her. Weiss mouth went dry as she took in the rest of Ruby, her dress cut to just above the knees and the mesh around her neckline providing just a hint at décolletage whilst also showing off her not inconsiderable muscles.

“How do I look?” Hand firmly clasped on the opposite bicep, Ruby had her usual endearing self-effacing grin, eyes glowing molten silver. Weiss’ attention was then drawn to her lips, faint traces of pink gloss highlighting their soft edges and Weiss’ breath caught in her chest. She felt a strange yet oddly familiar tingling that gave way to an urge to wrap her arms around Ruby’s neck and pull her down into a searing…

Oh.

_Oh fuck!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *GASP* Weiss said, well thought, a bad word! Anyway, fun fact: people sometimes say 'write what you know', so Weiss and Ruby's gay awakenings are (loosely) based upon mine and my best friend from secondary school's, though not necessarily respectively. So that's neat.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	20. Chapter 20

This was bad, this was really, really bad.

“Y-you look-” Gorgeous? Beautiful? Stunning? Incredibly kissable? “Great! R-really great.” Weiss answered Ruby weakly, thoughts whirling around her head. Had she always been like this? Was it just because Ruby was really tall now? But she’d met tall girls before, she was friends with Pyrrha for Gods’ sake! She needed to get out of here _now_. “Sorry, I have to go, things to do.” Weiss beat a hasty retreat before Ruby could call her back, smacking into a table as she fled. She needed to find Yang. She’d know what to do, she always knew how to fix things.

“Ren! Have you seen Yang?” Weiss accosted the long-haired boy as he was passing, heading to stop Nora from whatever idiotic thing she was about to do, but Weiss didn’t care right now.

“I think I saw her go outside.” Ren shrugged and hurried on his way. Quickly dodging around the creepy Penny girl, Weiss slipped out the door into the courtyard. She knew it was the height of rudeness for the hostess to leave a party early, but this was an emergency.

“Yang? Yang!?” She broke into a sprint as she reached the main courtyard, there was no answer. Looking wildly around she just caught a glimpse of a flash of gold seated underneath her favourite willow. “There you are. I need your help.” Weiss jogged over, brushing past the branches to approach Yang.

“Course you need my help, ev’ryone needs therapist Yang’s help.” Weiss stopped dead in her tracks, all thoughts of panic over Ruby gone. Yang’s voice was slurred and she could see a bottle clutched in her grip.

“Yang, are you drunk?” The blonde turned to look up at Weiss, eyes slightly bloodshot, a few streaks of make-up smeared on her cheeks.

“Yep.” Popping the ‘p’ like she and Ruby always did. “Well not exactly, definitely more than a little tipsy.” Yang raised her free hand and held her fingers apart as though to demonstrate just how little tipsy she was. It did not reassure Weiss in the slightest.

“Yang, you’re only seventeen! You’re underage.”

The blonde shook her head. “Eighteen actually, had my birthday back on Patch.”

“The drinking age in Vale is twenty-one, Yang.” Weiss deadpanned, wrinkling her nose at the familiar smell of alcohol, trying to mask her displeasure at Yang’s comment. She hadn’t mentioned she’d had her birthday. If she hadn’t told them about something that benign, what else wasn’t Yang telling them?

“Oh, well. Like I really care about that right now.” She raised the bottle and took a large gulp of whatever the contents were.

“Yang, you’re really worrying me right now, tell me what’s wrong.” Weiss moved to sit beside Yang, trying not to breathe too deeply.

“Oh so now you care about me, right when I’m in the middle of a drunken breakdown. Figures, since having breakdowns is how _you_ get people to care.” Okay, ow, that was mean.

“I’m going to let that slide for now because you’re drunk, but you are going to tell me right now what happened.” Weiss glared at her friend, before realising this wasn’t the best way to get her to open up and tried softening her expression somewhat.

“You really don’t know? In the last 48 hours I’ve had to talk Blake out of a self-destructive spiral, help with Ruby’s angsting about you asking Neptune to the dance and the padding on her dress _and_ console Pyrrha about Jaune not asking her to the dance. I just wanted to sit out here and mope about the girl I’m crushing on dancing with someone else. But now you’re here for my help, because that’s what you all do.”

Weiss looked away guiltily. “Yang… I had no idea you felt this way.”

“You never asked.” The older girl shrugged. “Besides, I have to be the strong one who holds you all up. You all think I’m the most put together member of the team. I’m not, but I have to be ‘cause you girls all have it worse than me.” Yang chuckled darkly and eyed the bottle, ignoring Weiss’ appalled look. “Ah great, and I’m a talky drunk.”

“I’m so, so sorry.” Weiss could hear the buzzing start but was just about able to ignore it, helping Yang was more important right now.

“You didn’t know and I should know better. It’s been tough few days.” Yang made to take another swig but was stopped by Weiss.

“No. You’re not drinking anymore.” Weiss carefully tugged the bottle out of Yang’s grip and hauled her to her feet. “We’re going to go to the bathroom and get you a drink of water and get you sobered up before one of the faculty sees you.” With an insistent tug, Weiss led her inebriated companion out from under the tree, into the main building and the nearest bathroom.

“Right, splash some water on your face and have a drink, of the non-alcoholic variety. I refuse to have a discussion about something this important whilst you’re drunk.” Whilst Yang moved over to the sinks, Weiss discreetly slipped into one of the stalls and under the cover of the sound of tap water, tipped the rest of the contents of the bottle into the toilet. Yang did however hear the toilet flush and was glaring at Weiss as she stepped out of the cubicle, holding the bottle at arm’s length.

“Did you have to do that? That was good Mistralian wine.” Yang sounded a lot more sober now, and the streaks of make-up had been cleaned off making her look a great deal more stable.

“It was best for the both of us if I got rid of it.” Weiss refused to elaborate further at Yang’s questioning look, as she tossed the empty bottle into the bin. “How did you manage to get that anyway?”

“Nicked it from my uncle’s stash, he prefers whiskey.” Yang shrugged. “He won’t miss it, unless he somehow runs out, which I doubt. He’s got like, three cases stashed at Dad’s house alone.” Weiss didn’t like the sound of this uncle, memories of empty wine bottles littering the study welled up, unbidden. No, this was about Yang, not her hang-ups.

“Alright, let’s just leave your uncle’s habits for a while.” She leaned back against one of the cubicle dividers. How on Remnant was she supposed to do this? Helping people was Yang’s thing, which was kind of how they got into this situation in the first place. Weiss took a deep breath, thinking back to how the others would help her through the past episodes.

“It’s been unfair on you for the three of us to keep dumping our issues on you and we’re going to talk to the others about it later. But why didn’t you tell us that it was stressing you out too much?” Weiss implored as Yang crossed her arms, shifting uncomfortably.

“Because you all rely on me and if I take that away, then who will hold you up?” he muttered miserably.

“Yang, you’re only seventeen, eighteen now I guess, you can’t keep bottling everything up like this. Especially if it’s driving you to drink.” Weiss threw a dirty look over at the bin she’d dropped the empty bottle into. “It’s not healthy in the least.”

Yang sighed deeply. “Like I said, it’s been a tough few days and it all just came to a head this evening. You’re right though, I shouldn’t have let it get this far, I haven’t seen anyone about my issues since I came to Beacon. Guess that makes me kind of a hypocrite for insisting you go see the counsellor.” Yang fell back against the tiled wall and slowly slid down to the floor, chuckling. Gingerly Weiss joined her, crouching beside the blonde in an effort not to touch the floor, still trying to mentally block out the buzzing.

“All I can really think of to say is that it’s not selfish for you to put yourself and your mental health first.” She leant up against Yang as she mulled over the conversation, wondering if there was anything else to add. She’d mentioned everything coming to head tonight, but what had triggered it? Weiss scrolled back through everything Yang had said and… Oh.

“You like girls?!” Weiss nearly sprang to her feet as she remembered Yang’s admission from earlier.

For her part Yang just looked up at Weiss confusedly. “Um yeah, I’m not exactly subtle about being bi, I flirt with girls almost all the time.”

“Well, evidently you are, since I never noticed!” Weiss was stunned by this revelation, she’d never actually met someone who was that way before, now excepting herself she supposed. “So um, who’s the girl you’re crushing on?” She asked awkwardly. Yang just gave her a look that screamed ‘Are you really that blind?’ before turning away.

“It’s Blake.” She muttered.

Weiss just crouched silently for a few seconds. “I’m sorry, I must not be hearing things right because I could’ve sworn I just heard you say you had a crush on Blake.”

Yang’s quiet and incredibly sheepish response came a moment later. “Nope, you er, you heard correctly.”

“Oh.” Weiss shuffled uncomfortably, was this how Ruby felt after Weiss showed the others her wings? Having a secret you so desperately wanted to share because someone else had been so open with you. “Um, that’s actually kind of an odd coincidence.”

Yang looked over, eyebrow raised in confusion. “How so?”

“Well, when I was looking for you earlier, it was because I wanted to ask you something. I can stop if you want.” Weiss hastily back-pedalled, recalling Yang just talking about the others using her to prop them up. “It can wait, or just not be said at all.”

“No, it’s fine. So long as you aren’t expecting any deep insights, I don’t think I’m up to that tonight. So just spill it princess.”

Weiss took a deep breath. “IthinkImightbegay.” The words spilled out too fast, sounding like an unflattering imitation of an excited Ruby.

Yang blinked, nonplussed. “Sorry didn’t quite catch that.”

Weiss forced herself to slow down, and to ignore the soft buzzing that was still going and was being really distracting. “I… think… I might be gay.” Weiss had been prepared for a few responses, from Yang getting angry and screaming at her for her perversions, to her usual quiet acceptance. What she did not expect, was Yang to burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?!” Weiss shrieked indignantly.

“You’re kidding me right?” Yang managed to choke out between peals of laughter. “You mean I was right when I asked you about this last week?”

“Maybe? I don’t know!” Weiss moaned. “I’ve never felt like this before. I mean I could tell when girls were attractive or beautiful but it was always an aesthetic appreciation.” Weiss started rambling, whilst Yang listened, still chuckling, to the Ruby-ism Weiss had managed to pick up.

“But then I see Ruby and she’s tall and in a really fancy dress and all I could think of was kissing her and-.” She stopped abruptly, her jaw going slack as she remembered who she was talking to. Yang on the other hand just burst into renewed fits of giggles.

“Oh, this is too good. You’re seriously telling me you saw Ruby in her fancy dress and heels, had a massive gay revelation and came running to me.” Weiss blushed furiously and refused to look at Yang.

“In as many words… Aren’t you upset about it being Ruby?” She asked tentatively.

“Nah, you thought I would give you a shovel talk or something? Ruby can look after herself and I trust you. Besides it’s not like you and Rubes are going out right now or anything.” Yang shrugged, not noticing Weiss’ look of anguish flit across her face.

“But I can’t be gay! I just can’t!” She wailed, burying her face in her hands.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. There something wrong with you being gay princess?” Weiss’ face remained where it was, muffling her speech.

“You don’t know what it’s like in Atlas, the upper class are obsessed with lineage and blood. If I can’t continue the bloodline I’ll as good as forfeit my status as heiress of the SDC. Same as if I was found out as a Faunus. It wouldn’t matter that I’m more Schnee than father, being part-Faunus would invalidate that.” She tactfully skipped out on telling the recently admitted bisexual that it was also a disgusting perversion. Yang just regarded Weiss wither mouth agape slightly. For a moment Weiss was terrified she’d managed to pile too much stuff onto Yang again. Then the blonde shook her head slowly.

“Oookaaay… It’s getting late and this sounds like a lot to unpack and I am way too emotionally drained to even try touching that.” Yang hauled herself up and brushed off her dress before extending a hand to Weiss. “So what do you say we go back to the dance and try to make the best of the night and we can sort through our gay feelings another time?”

Weiss accepted Yang’s hand and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. “I suppose that sounds like a plan. I hope no-one spiked the punch whilst we were gone.” To Weiss’ confusion, Yang just started giggling as she led the way out of the bathroom and back towards the hall.

“Oh please, Nora spiked the punch before the dance even started.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was an... interesting chapter to write. Time for a little dive behind the scenes of AAA's writing. I've had this scene planned since about chapter 3, about the time I realised I wanted this to be more of an ensemble piece than just focusing on Weiss. So this has been a long time coming. Also a bit of housekeeping with regards to the timeline, I'm stretching out the timeline of the next few episode's events because I always felt it was rather rushed. In fact, from the research I was doing for this I'm pretty sure the actual events of vol. 2 take place over a week maybe two so I've already been stretching out the timelines just less egregiously than ignoring the clear statement of the field trip happening the day after the dance.
> 
> Anyway, As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	21. Chapter 21

“I still think this is a bad idea.” Weiss griped as she, Yang and Ruby made their way toward their dorm.

“Yeah, well you got out-voted so no more complaining.” Yang shot back, leading the way. As it turned out, the punch getting spiked by Nora wasn’t the worst thing that had happened last night. The morning after, Ruby had gathered Weiss and Yang in the library after classes and had related the story of how she confronted an intruder as well as her debrief with Ozpin. After a more severe scolding session than usual from Weiss, which had absolutely nothing to do with her irritating newly discovered attraction to the girl, they discussed what they were going to tell Blake.

Weiss had been very firmly of the opinion that telling her would be a bad idea and would cause her to fall back into her obsessive habits. Ruby on the other hand had insisted that Blake needed to know and that it would be wrong to hide it from her.

What had surprised Weiss was that Yang was also in favour of telling Blake. She’d imagined after her confession last night, that Yang would have the other Faunus’ best interests at heart and not want her to backslide. But evidently not, as they were now congregating at the dorm to deliver the news.

“If it makes you feel better, if we keep this from her and she finds out, she’ll be super mad at us. Like never talk to us ever again kind of mad.” Ruby tried to reassure Weiss as they reached the door. She was not reassured by this at all.

“Fine, let’s get this over with.” She threw a concerned look at Yang. Truth be told, it wasn’t just Blake’s reaction she was worried about. Yang seemed more stable after last night, but the cracks were still there. And if Blake reacted poorly to this, Weiss wasn’t sure Yang could handle another team implosion like the one of the last few days.

The three of them trooped into the room, Weiss immediately breaking away and hanging up her jacket, force of habit by now to have her wings free in the room. Blake looked up from her book which she was reading whilst sunning herself on her bed.

“Hey girls… Um, what’s with the serious faces?” She asked, pulling herself up. Weiss and Ruby took their usual seats on Weiss’ bunk whilst Yang sat beside her partner.

“We need to tell you about something that happened last night. Well, Ruby does, Weiss and I were indisposed.” That was a polite way of saying drunk and having a breakdown. Blake looked expectantly over at Ruby.

“Well, uh, last night I was getting some air and I saw someone sneaking around the CCT, so I followed them.”

“Taking an incredible risk.” Weiss sniped, still peeved her partner would throw herself into danger like that.

“I had Crescent Rose with me, I was fine.” Ruby waved off the concern. “So anyway, she knocked out all the guards and I followed her up to the communicationsroomandwefought.” Ruby’s speech began to speed up as she got more and more excited. “AndIwaslikefwoomandshewentboomandtherewasabowandIcouldn’twalkinthestupidladystilts-.”

“Breathe, Ruby.” Weiss instructed, pushing down her disappointment in Ruby’s lack of interest in heels. No, deal with potential Blake fall out now, tall Ruby later or preferably never.

“Right, sorry. Well, then General Ironwood showed up and the intruder lady escaped.” Ruby hung her head in shame. “I should’ve been able to catch her.”

“Hush, Ruby, it’s not your fault.” Weiss made to hug the younger girl, but hesitated and moved back, repressing her disgusting urges.

“The worst bit is that I think she was the woman who was with Torchwick when I first fought him in Vale.” Ruby finished miserably, avoiding looking at Blake whose ears had slammed back in anger.

“This is what I was telling you about. I should never have listened to you.” She hissed, standing up and starting to pace the room in agitation. “I should never have gone to the dance last night. If I’d stayed vigilant this wouldn’t have happened.”

Weiss’ eyes flickered over to Yang, her expression grim and looking like she was trying to hold back tears. Then to Ruby, whose head was hung low and Weiss could hear faint sniffs as she swiped her hand across her face. But Blake didn’t seem to have noticed, too busy ranting and stalking. Forcing herself to remain calm and ignore the rising buzz, Weiss stood up as well and walked over to Blake. She looked up at Weiss and was met with rustling feathers as she cuffed Blake around the head with her wing.

Blake just looked stunned, mouth hanging open. Weiss heard the beginnings of a cry of indignation but she cut it off.

“You don’t get to talk right now. Sit down.” She pointed at the spot next to Yang, Blake had vacated. The dark-haired girl obeyed silently, probably out of shock more than anything else whilst Weiss returned to her seat beside Ruby. The sisters also appeared to be in a similar state of shock as Weiss continued.

“Now, contrary to what you seem to believe, the White Fang’s activities don’t revolve around you. Last night would’ve happened regardless of whether you attended the dance. Not to mention if you had been around to interfere it would not have turned out any better.”

“You don’t know that.” Blake muttered rebelliously, arms folded and refusing to look at any of them.

“Blake, I just smacked you upside the head, sorry about that by the way. If you were in any fighting state you’d have dodged it. I bet last night was the first good sleep you’ve had in days and you’re still recovering. Thank the Gods the field mission isn’t for another week.”

“I told you about what obsession did to me a couple of days ago Blake, didn’t that mean anything to you?” Yang spoke up, voice sounding oddly hollow like it had last night and Weiss hated it. She vaguely wondered what story Yang could’ve told her, but that could wait for another time.

“It’s not like that…” Blake replied weakly.

“Then what is it like Blake? Why are you so fixated on this?” Weiss asked, gaze firmly locked on Blake.

Silence filled the room, then: “Because it’s my fault, I helped make the White Fang into this… thing.” Blake’s voice cracked a bit as she spoke.

Weiss leaned forwards, trying to make eye contact. “What do you mean it’s your fault?”

“I never told you how I joined the White Fang, did I?” The other three shook their heads. “Well, joined is probably inaccurate, I was born into the Fang. My father founded the White Fang after the Faunus Rights Revolution, it was his dream, representing the unity between Humans and Faunus and advocate for our rights. I’ve been holding placards at protests since I could walk and shout slogans.” Blake finally looked up at the others, eyes sparkling with something Weiss couldn’t recognise.

“But then progress stalled, for all the protests, the boycotts and the petitions, things weren’t changing fast enough. I fell in with a few other younger members, they thought more progress could be achieved if we moved to more violent means. We started small, civil disobedience, resisting arrest, blockading streets with our protests. And it started to work, people noticed us and started to give ground. Then some of the leaders noticed what we were doing, my father wanted nothing to do with it and forbade it. But some of the others liked our ideas and took them further. Soon we were stealing from businesses that used Faunus labour, vandalising shops that refused to serve us, one time we started a fire at an SDC warehouse.” She threw Weiss an apologetic look that she waved off, still listening intently.

“My father was furious, but we’d come too far by now and any resistance would’ve met with a coup. So he stepped down as high leader and Sienna Khan took over. My parents begged me to leave with them, I said some things I’m not proud of and that was the last time I saw them, five years ago.” Tears sparkled in Blake’s eyes now and Weiss recognised that look from earlier, regret. Yang took the pause as an opportunity to move in and give Blake a rough hug.

“You don’t have to keep going.” Yang murmured softly, but Blake shook her head.

“I had a partner.” She paused for a second as Yang seemed to flinch minutely. “More of a mentor, I suppose. He was the leader of the Vale chapter and I was his right hand. I learned to steal, to sabotage, to fight. All in service of what he said we dese-.” Blake’s voice broke momentarily, breath catching and face paling. “I thought what we were doing was right, he told me we were making the world a better place.”

She looked straight into Weiss’ eyes, she sounded so broken from the confession but her voice held. “Now do you see why I have to make things right? I perverted my father’s dream and helped turn it into something twisted and wicked.” Tears flowed freely now and Blake finally broke down into breathy sobs.

Slowly, so as not to startle her, Weiss slid off the bed and over to Blake, followed momentarily by Ruby. Carefully, the pair joined In with Yang’s hug, trying to console the shaking girl.

“Oh Blake…” Ruby spoke for the first time in several minutes, rubbing familiar circles on Blake’s back. Trying not to disturb the others, Weiss flexed out her wings and laid them around the four. Blake stiffened momentarily, then relaxed into Ruby’s hand, causing a quickly quashed spark of jealousy.

Blake’s sobs had quietened and the room remained silent, leaving Weiss to wonder. The truth had been far, far worse than she’d imagined. She’d always imagined Blake would one day tell them how she ended up as part of the White Fang and had idly considered the question herself. She’d assumed that Blake had just joined when she was young and impressionable, lured by promises of a better future and had only been a foot soldier who got cold feet and ran away.

But the daughter of the founder of the White Fang? And the right hand of a faction leader? It beggared belief. Almost as much as the heiress to the most egregious violators of Faunus rights being a Faunus herself.

“We’re with you Blake, every step of the way.” Weiss finally broke the silence, drawing back and letting her wings fold up behind her. “But we can’t in good conscience let you destroy yourself over this.” Blake looks up and looks like she’s about to argue, but Weiss cuts her off again. “You know that I understand the need to reclaim your birth right more than anyone else so don’t try to argue with me on this.”

“Faunus don’t believe in birth rights and you never personally contributed to the fall of the SDC.” Blake muttered. “But you have a point.” She conceded quietly.

“Glad you agree. I hope we’ve made it clear that this thing with the White Fang is far from over and as soon as you’ve gotten back to full strength we’ll get back to the investigation. In fact, Ruby had an idea about that, didn’t you?” She stood and looked over at Ruby, still latched onto Blake’s side.

Ruby perked up at the mention of her name. “Ooh, yes. Well I had a meeting with Ozpin this morning to discuss what happened last night and I _may_ have let it slip to him that there was a White Fang operation South-East of Vale.” Weiss nodded along with this before making her contribution.

“We could either select a mission in the general vicinity or slip away during the field mission. I suspect the former will be easier, especially if Ozpin knows we know the location and has tacitly supported any sanctioned missions related to this.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Yang spoke up from her position beside her partner. “What do you think Blake?”

The dark-haired girl hesitated momentarily, mulling over her words before answering. “I think it’s a good plan, we’ll have to be good and ready for it when it comes, check out on the maps what’s around there and see if we can get a list of the potential missions on offer.”

“Excellent, we all seem to be in accordance.” Weiss clapped her hands together, drawing their attention. “Now, it’s getting late and I don’t know about you Blake, but the rest of us haven’t eaten yet. Yang, will you help me bring some food up?” She shot the older girl a meaningful look when she looked reluctant to part from Blake as she fetched her jacket from the coat stand.

“Alright…” Detaching from her partner, Yang followed a now jacketed Weiss out the room. “Okay what’s this about Wei-?” Her question interrupted by Weiss wrapping herself around Yang’s midriff in as close of an approximation of Yang’s bear hugs as she could manage.

“Are you okay Yang?” Weiss voice was muffled by Yang’s body, though she’d been careful not to plant her face in the blonde’s cleavage when she went in for the embrace despite an odd urge to do so.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” She asked puzzled, but still returning the unexpected physical affection.

“You weren’t looking so great when we told Blake about last night.” She released Yang from the hug and stood up straight, looking up and down the corridor checking nobody was there to witness the interaction. “And I figured you’d still be a bit fragile after last night as well.”

“Yeah well I’m feeling a bit better today at least.” Yang started rubbing the back of her head. “And I won’t lie and say the Blake dropping this on us isn’t super stressing and concerning.” She sighed deeply. “I think I’m gonna see the counsellor before we go on the away mission.” He then fixed Weiss with a shrewd expression. “I bet you haven’t been either?”

Weiss shuffled awkwardly on the spot. “I’ve been busy…” The excuse sounded weak even to her.

“Yeah, nope. That’s not going to fly, Weiss. You called me out for not looking after myself, I won’t let you do the same. You and me, we’ll go the day after tomorrow, no excuses.” Yang stated firmly, offering a hand which Weiss took warily.

“Oh alright then.” She acquiesced. “Now, shall we go get the food?” Without waiting for an answer, Weiss started to walk away towards the dining hall. Hopefully now things would settle down and the team could return to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's that time again, time for a new chapter yay! Not much to say about this one, other than I feel really bad for Blake.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	22. Chapter 22

Weiss’ prediction only turned out to be partly correct. Whilst the team did indeed settle down, Blake in particular returning to a more acceptable level of broodiness, things did not return to normal. The primary cause of this lack of normalcy was currently sat across the lunch table from Weiss, devouring an unhealthy amount of cookies.

“Ruby, you really shouldn’t eat so many cookies like that.” She scolded her partner, trying to look disapproving and utterly failing.

“Shorry Weish!” Ruby’s apology was accompanied by a spray of crumbs and a screech of displeasure as Weiss tried to dodge and almost falling off the bench.

“Ruby!” Weiss hurriedly brushed at herself with a handkerchief, glaring at the younger girl who shrank back nervously.

“Sorry…” She squeaked, knowingly or otherwise fixing Weiss with her puppy eyed stare, causing the white haired girl to falter.

“I-I, just don’t do it again!” She huffed and forced herself to look away from the mesmerising silver, to try to hide her luminescent blush. Ruby, meanwhile, paid no heed and immediately went back to devouring cookies.

It had been like this for the last day and a half and it was pure torture. In the absence of an imminent Blake self-destruction or Yang taking on too much responsibility, Weiss was only left with her own character deficiency to deal with. She had found herself unable to remain in a bad mood with Ruby, even when he wanted to and frequently caught herself staring at her during idle moments with what Yang had described as a ‘moonstruck’ expression.

What was possibly even worse, was that it wasn’t just Ruby either. Just yesterday her brain had felt like it had short-circuited when she saw Yang changing shirts after sparring practice and caught a glimpse of her abs. Not to mention an incredibly embarrassing moment when she’d been completely unable to formulate a coherent sentence when speaking to Pyrrha. All the while a soft voice in the back of her head would berate Weiss for her perverted thoughts and desires.

And it was all Ruby’s fault. If she hadn’t been so tall and gorgeous at the dance then none of this would have happened and Weiss would still be normal. A smaller, far more reasonable part of Weiss argued that she must’ve always been gay and she just hadn’t realised it yet, citing numerous incidents where she’d had more than just friendly with Ruby. But as expected, this part was no match for the sheer force of denial the rest of her was able to muster.

“You alright there Weiss, you look hot or something.” Not helping one bit was Yang, who flashed her a not-so-innocent grin. The blonde had taken it upon herself to relentlessly tease and call attention to Weiss’ perversion. In a few moments of weakness, she had considered retaliating and pointing out Yang’s now blindingly obvious crush on Blake but that would be petty and cruel.

“No, I’m fine thank you Yang.” She shot a viciously evil glare at the girl who was completely unfazed by the pure vitriol in Weiss’ gaze.

“Okay, that’s good, wouldn’t want you missing out on our afternoon session.” Yang chirped happily. Right, Weiss had managed to forget about that.

“What session?” Ruby cocked her head in that freakishly adorable way, making Weiss completely forget any excuses she had planned and reduced her brain to mush, all the while the voice whispered in the back of her mind.

“Extra combat training.” Yang supplied smoothly. “I’m giving Weiss some pointers on hand-to-hand combat.” Ruby grimaced in sympathy at Weiss.

“Yeah, you two have fun with that, just make sure you aren’t doing it in the middle of a forest and without your baby.”

“I’ll… keep that in mind.” Weiss frowned, a familiar, nauseating feeling washing over her. What was wrong with her? Now she was jealous of a hunk of metal!

“Well we should get going, see you later!” Yang hopped up and pulled a startled Weiss with her.

“Ack! Unhand me you brute!” Weiss spluttered as they left the cafeteria, at which Yang let go, fixing Weiss with her usual cocky grin.

“Sorry princess.” She did not sound sorry in the least. “Alright, counsellor’s office is this way.”

Weiss had to jog slightly to keep up with the blonde. “Extra combat training? Really?”

Yang shrugged. “It worked didn’t it? Though, you really could do with some work on your unarmed fighting. You’re basically useless without your fancy toothpick.”

“Myrtenaster is not some fancy toothpick!” Weiss replied hotly. “She’s a precision built marvel of dust channelling metals and the result of years’ worth of research in the field of Dust interaction.” She neglected to add that she wasn’t so useless without her blade now either. In fact, something Ruby had mentioned about the intruder had given Weiss an idea she needed to talk to Coco about.

“Pft, all I’m saying is without your sword, you don’t stand a chance. How do you think we’ll be able to beat Pyrrha in the tournament if you rely on it so much?”

“You’re thinking that far ahead already? And what makes you think I’d be fighting Pyrrha?” Weiss asked, confused by this leap. Admittedly she too had been considering tactics for the tournament but _Yang_ planning?

“Oh well I figured, being optimistic and stuff we’d make it to the finals and Pyrrha’ definitely going to make it. So I’ve been thinking up strategies in preparation.” Yang shrugged. “I thought everyone was doing it, I’ve seen your notes. You need a better hiding spot than Blake’s books.” Weiss pouted at this, folding her arms.

“Alright, but you didn’t say why you thought I’d be fighting Pyrrha.”

The blonde looked taken aback by this “Because I thought it was obvious? You’re the best choice.”

Weiss was stunned and had to take a moment to formulate a response. “Me? No, no, no. I am not the best choice. Ruby’s faster, you’re stronger and Blake’s more agile. I’ve got nothing special.”

“Well Ruby gets nervous in front of big crowds and won’t want to be part of any rounds after the first and Blake doesn’t want her face plastered all over the place.” Yang stated blandly, as though this was all incredibly obvious.

“But what about you? Like I said you’re stronger than me and have more training.” The smaller girl flailed, trying to dissuade Yang from what she knew would be a terrible idea.

“I… don’t think I’m the best choice for the finals.” Yang looked away, arm reaching up to clasp her bicep like Weiss had seen Blake do on many occasions. “Besides, it doesn’t matter if I’m stronger, you’re more technically skilled and that goes further. We just get you some hand-to-hand training and you’ll be great.”

Weiss raised an eyebrow at Yang’s unusual behaviour but elected to not call attention to it, thinking Yang was probably still a bit raw after Sunday night. “Well if you say so, we should probably put it to a team vote though.”

“Yeah, well we’ll sort that out later, we’re here.” The pair came to a halt outside a door at the end of one of the halls in the staff offices section of Beacon. There were a couple of chairs beside the door which had a slightly tarnished sign which read ‘Counsellor’s Office’ along with some open hours tacked below it and a red lightbulb stuck above. “Looks like the counsellor’s free, go on then. I can wait.” Yang moved and sat down on one of the chairs.

“Um, aren’t you going to go first?” Weiss asked timidly, trying to quash the nervousness that was rising.

“Heh, nope.” Yang grinned lazily. “You’ve been putting this off for weeks now, if I go first you’ll probably sneak away.” Weiss just huffed in response.

“I would not!” Well, she had been considering it, but she wasn’t about to admit that to Yang. “Ugh, fine. I’ll go first.” Squaring her shoulders, a feat which would be made easier if she didn’t have a pair of cooped up wings, and knocked on the door.

“Yes?” A familiar voice called out. No, it couldn’t be. Weiss looked back over at Yang in bewilderment, the wide-eyed blonde shrugging in response and gesturing to the door. Gingerly, Weiss reached out and opened the door, revealing a rather harried looking Professor Goodwitch sat behind a desk with a rather large pile of paperwork sat on it.

“Miss Schnee?” The Professor looked up. “Do come in.” Shutting the door behind her, Weiss stepped forward to the chair sat in front of the desk.

“Um, Professor, why are you here?” She asked tentatively, unsure as to how formal she needed to be.

Professor Goodwitch let out a long-suffering sigh. “Budget cuts. The Vale council saw fit to cut the welfare allowance to the academy and we had to let our dedicated counsellor go. And as I do hold a degree in psychology, even if it is in forensic psychology.” She muttered as an aside. “Professor Ozpin saw fit to place me as a stop gap whilst he negotiates with the council.” She shook her head wearily. “But I really shouldn’t be telling you all this. So to what do I owe this visit? Because I will say I am rather surprised to see you Miss Schnee.”

Weiss shuffled nervously in position. “I-I’m not entirely sure of that myself, I’m here at Yang’ insistence, even though I told her I don’t need to be here. But over the last couple of days, something’s happened and I’m starting to wonder whether she was right.” Goodwitch steepled her fingers as she looked at Weiss with concern.

“I see… Please do take a seat.” He gestured to the chair in front of her desk. Weiss winced slightly as she sat, unable to get a good position for her wings under her jacket. Professor Goodwitch just cocked and eyebrow, but said nothing about it. “So Miss Schnee, where would you like to start?”

“I suppose some context as to why Yang wanted me to see you is as good a place as any, then perhaps why I think I need this.” The Professor nodded, so Weiss continued. “I had this problem, something that if it got out could ruin me. And part of how I dealt with it was hurting me. Physically, as in I was hurting myself.”

“Well I certainly see why Miss Xiao Long wanted you to see me about this, self-harm is quite serious.”

“But neither of you understand, it was just a means to an end and I have no intention of continuing. Emphasis on _had_ a problem.” Weiss huffed, folding her arms and slouching slightly in the uncomfortable chair.

“Miss Schnee, regardless of why you hurt yourself, there can still be long-term effects on your health, both physical and mental. I recommend as soon as you can, go to the infirmary and have them give you a check-up.” Weiss bolted upright at this suggestion.

“NO! Nonononono! I can’t do that, that’s a terrible idea! An awful one!” Weiss flailed her hands in a very Ruby-like way.

“Miss Schnee, you are training to become a huntress if there’s any lasting damage it could have a major impact on your future career.” Professor Goodwitch scrutinised Weiss closely. “Why do you not want to visit the infirmary?”

“It-it doesn’t matter, can we talk about something else? Like why _I_ think I should be here and not my overly concerned teammate.” Goodwitch looked distinctly unhappy about Weiss’ attempt to change the subject but eventually gestured for Weiss to continue.

“Good, it’s rather embarrassing really. But I need to fix this, fix myself.” He paused to take a deep breath and try to parse her next words. “I’ve been having… thoughts, about other women. Deeply, deeply inappropriate and perverted ones.”

The Professor just looked confused by this. “Inappropriate? Could you give an example?”

Weiss flicked back to earlier that morning. “I had a thought about myself and Ruby earlier, kissing.” She looked up at Goodwitch and was surprised not to see any disgust or revulsion on her face.

“Is that it? You and Miss Rose kissing. Nothing sexual or-.” Weiss interrupted horrified.

“ _Sexual!_ Gods no, that would be even worse!” She baulked at the mere idea of it, just wanting to kiss girls was bad enough, but wanting to do _that_ with them? However, the mere mention of such a thing sent her imagination into overdrive providing her with several uncomfortably pleasurable thoughts. Weiss desperately tried to ignore them as the voice in the back of her mind rose in volume, now shrieking insults at her.

“Then I’m not sure what the problem is, unless you feel uncomfortable about having these thoughts and not telling your partner?” Weiss had to bite back a disbelieving laugh.

“Not sure what the problem is? We’re both girls Professor.” All at once, it felt like the temperature in the room had dropped by several degrees.

“I see.” Professor Goodwitch adjusted her glasses again and glanced over at a picture frame sat on her desk, though Weiss couldn’t see the subject. “So I assume then that when you say you want to fix yourself…”

“I need you to help make me normal.” Weiss nodded. “Make me like men, or at least not like women like that.”

“Then I can’t help you.” Goodwitch stated simply.

Weiss gaped momentarily. “But isn’t it your job to help students?”

“It is and I have offered to help.”

“You literally just refused to help me.” Weiss shot back, feeling her wings flex under her jacket in anger.

“Ah, you misunderstood, I am perfectly willing to help you with coming to terms with your attraction to women and any other issues. But I absolutely refuse to try and ‘fix’ you or to even entertain the notion that such a thing is possible.” Professor Goodwitch gave Weiss what seemed to be an attempt at a sympathetic look that was stymied by her naturally stern expression. “Miss Schnee, I really do want to help you with this, but what you want to do isn’t healthy.”

“Fine! I guess I don’t need your ‘help’ then!” Weiss stood up furiously and marched over to the door, throwing it open to reveal a surprised looking Yang. “I guess I’ll just have to find out how to fix me by myself!”

“Miss Schnee, please think about this.” Professor Goodwitch stood up as well and started to move around the desk. “Getting angry won’t help the situation.”

“I don’t care, this was a waste of time just like I said!” The heiress yelled back, stalking out of the room and away down the corridor.

“Hey Weiss, wait up!” Yang began to chase after her only to run head first into a spinning glyph.

“Oh no you don’t Yang Xiao Long, this was your idea and it was a terrible one. I’ve fulfilled my end of the deal so you can leave me alone!” Leaving the glyph blocking the hallway, Weiss continued to stomp away, ignoring Yang’s shouts.

She was just going to have to deal with this by herself. It was annoying she couldn’t get an immediate fix, but what was a few more days of torture whilst she found her cure, surely it wouldn’t be too bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weiss, no, that's not you were supposed to go to the counsellor for. This can only bode well. On another note, I'm switching up my posting schedule to Mondays and Fridays, it was a bit too hard to have the two day gap during the week and trying to write and edit in the evenings after work. So next chapter will be on Monday.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	23. Chapter 23

If Weiss had thought Tuesday and Wednesday morning had been hellish, then she had no idea how torturous the rest of the week would be. Why was Beacon somehow now crawling with pretty ladies? Weiss ended up devoting nearly half her day to internally berating herself for her despicable thoughts, her own internal monologue in stereo with that unidentified voice whispering in the back of her mind.

In addition to this, Yang was constantly asking what had happened during Weiss’ incredibly short session with Professor Goodwitch. So Weiss had been forced to sneak away and had holed herself up in the café on the far side of campus. This also had the added bonus of getting Weiss away from the root cause of her recent distress.

Weiss had several conflicting feelings towards her partner she was currently trying to sort through as she sipped at her usual caffè mocha. On the one hand, part of Weiss hated Ruby for being the cause of this, despite knowing it wasn’t her fault, it was all Weiss’ deviancy. On the other she knew her feelings for Ruby ran deeper than just the disgustingly carnal desires she now felt towards other girls. And on yet another hypothetical hand this was all pure conjecture as Weiss was 100% certain Ruby was completely normal.

She sighed deeply and set her coffee down to rub at her temples, she supposed it was a small mercy that over the last few days that infernal buzzing noise hadn’t made an appearance. Extracting her scroll, Weiss pulled it open and scanned through the files, looking for some notes she’d made. Momentarily, she hovered over the SDC records she’d acquired and annotated a couple of weeks ago, but that could wait for another time. Continuing to scan, she eventually found the file and opened it up.

After Professor Goodwitch had refused to help fix Weiss in the way she wanted, she’d been forced to take matters into her own hands and had done her own research. It was slow going, especially since she’d had to avoid using her scroll to search on the CCT-net. She still didn’t put it past father to keep tabs on her search history.

Not for the first time it occurred to Weiss she should get her own, personal scroll, not paid for by father. She wasn’t exactly lacking in funds, ever since she’d decided to not remove her wings again, she’d been carefully siphoning money from her allowance into a separate, private account. But she didn’t want to touch that unless it was an emergency.

Reading through her sparse notes, Weiss was struck by how few solutions she’d actually found. There was a camp in Atlas that provided services for ‘Realigning your desires’ through ‘Specialised aversion techniques’. But the thought of going back to Atlas scared Weiss more than being a pervert. There had been a brief mention of using Lightning Dust as a form of corrective therapy. But Weiss was relatively unfamiliar with that kind of Dust and the only person she knew who was proficient, was Nora. It would be a cold day in hell when Weiss let Nora anywhere near her head.

Shutting her scroll with a snap and tucking it away, Weiss let her head fall back against the chair and closed her eyes, weighing her options. It was with a small amount of amusement that Weiss noted that once again she was being placed into an impossible choice, although one that wasn’t quite as dramatic as mutilating herself. As far as she could see, she had two options: either cure herself, though whatever means were most appropriate. Or continue as a degenerate and repress any and all desires for women. Neither choice was particularly appealing especially given her choices of cure.

“Lien for your thoughts?” a soft voice sounded from somewhere above Weiss’ head. She cracked open her eyes to see Blake stood just beside the table holding a steaming cup of what was probably jasmine tea. “Mind if I sit?”

“By all means.” Weiss gestured to the chair opposite her which Blake gracefully settled herself into. Weiss was actually quite surprised Blake was here, they had decided a while ago to make their visit to this café a regular thing and every Sunday they would meet to talk, do assignments or whatever they felt like. But as of late, with her fixation on the White Fang, Blake had been skipping out in their café dates. Okay, date was a poor choice of words given Weiss’ current mental state. Regardless, it was good to see Blake, who was looking a lot better than the previous week. Gone were the bags under her eyes and the harrowed look, she was actually smiling for once as she sipped at her tea.

“So, what were you thinking about and would you like some advice?” She asked, setting her cup down on the table.

“It’s nothing important.” Weiss lied, but Blake didn’t seem to pick up on it as she let Weiss continue. “And I’m not sure of the worth of your advice after the last piece you gave me. I don’t care what you or my sister say, the head is not the best part of a fish.” She smirked at Blake’s gasp of mock offense.

“I’ll have you know salmon head soup tastes amazing.” Blake sniffed, grinning back as Weiss mimed gagging as she remembered her sister’s favourite dish. She was sure between herself and Winter they’d decimated the salmon population of Atlas.

“I’m glad you’re here.” Weiss stated once recovered from her faked retching. “I missed these.”

Blake smiled a little sheepishly. “I did too, sorry I skipped out the last couple of weeks.”

Weiss waved off the apology. “It’s fine. You were dealing with something, poorly I might add, but we were able to move past it. Besides, the away mission starts tomorrow so were can get back to hunting down the White Fang.”

“Yes, speaking of dealing with something poorly.” Weiss narrowed her eyes at the painfully obvious segue. “Yang mentioned you ran out of your counselling appointment on Wednesday after yelling at Professor Goodwitch.”

“That snitch.” Weiss muttered mutinously.

“She’s concerned about you.” Blake chided lightly.

“So she’s concerned about me, so what?” Weiss’ tone had sharpened, slipping back into her old ice queen voice, making Blake flinch slightly and sending a wave of guilt crashing over Weiss.

“Weiss, why are you shutting her, us, out like this?” Blake kept her eyes averted from Weiss, picking at her cuticles.

“I’m not…” Weiss’ lie fell flat between them as Blake looked back to Weiss, eyebrow raised and hands stilling. “It’s private?” The eyebrow remained raised. “I just don’t know okay! I have no idea what to do and no-one’s been any help. Goodwitch won’t help me and I can’t talk to Yang about it because-.” Weiss paused, she didn’t know whether Yang had told the others about what happened at the dance.

“Because what Weiss?” The other Faunus cocked her head curiously.

“It’s not important.” Weiss tried to deflect. “The point is this is something I have to deal with alone.”

“Like how you dealt with those alone?” Blake nodded towards Weiss’ shoulders. “If I recall correctly, that entailed an awful lot of self-loathing and mutilation.” The white-haired girl shuffled awkwardly in her seat, was Blake a mind reader or something?

So maybe the methods she’d found required a little more pain than strictly necessary and maybe she’d been more than a little bit… fervent with her self-criticism lately. But that didn’t mean this was just a rerun of her Faunus issues right? There was a difference, there was nothing inherently wrong with being a Faunus, whilst the same could not be said for her being a lesbian. Blake was looking at Weiss expectantly, so she settled on the most sensible course of action: denial.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” If there was a list of ‘stupid things Weiss has said’ she was sure this would be at least in the top five, alongside such gems as ‘All Faunus are criminals’ and ‘Fedoras are going to make a comeback this year’. For her part Blake just sighed deeply.

“Weiss, I’m done.” She started standing up, having finished her drink a little while ago. “I want to help you, but I can’t keep trying like this, none of us can. I’ll tell Yang to leave you alone about this as well.” Panic suddenly gripped Weiss as Blake started to walk away, hurt clearly spelled across her face. A familiar buzz began thrumming in her ears.

“Blake, wait.” She reached out and lightly caught Blake’s wrist, causing the girl to freeze up. All at once, Weiss knew she’d done something very wrong. She could hear Blake’s breathing accelerate and her voice wavered as she spoke

“Weiss. Please let go.” She immediately did so, retreating back as far as she could in her chair squeaking out apologies.

“Sorry, sorry.” Blake shook her head, pulling away herself, hand firmly clamped around the wrist Weiss had held.

“Please, don’t do that again.” There was still a slight tremor in Blake’s voice.

“I’m sorry, sorry.” Weiss continued to mumble, pulling her legs up onto the chair, not caring about the dirt she’d be tracking on it.

“I’m fine, really. Just, please don’t grab me like that.” Blake carefully stepped over and settled back into her chair, regarding Weiss as she kept whimpering out apologies.

“I’m terrible, I’m a terrible person.” Weiss muttered, now refusing to look at the dark-haired girl sat across from her, preferring instead to bury her face into her knees.

“I said I’m fine now, you caught me by surprise.” Blake leaned forward to try and catch the heiress’ eye. “Why do you keep trying to find reasons to hate yourself?”

Weiss finally looked up in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Blake just shook her head. “Every time I see you get like this, it’s because you’re beating yourself up over something you think you did wrong. And I’m willing to bet whatever you’ve been dwelling on the last few days has also been sending you into a spiral of self-hatred. So what is it?”

Weiss remained quiet for a while, then: “Can you promise me something?” The other Faunus nodded. “Please, don’t hate me.” Weiss knew it was a pointless promise to extract, one that Blake could never adhere to. But she did feel slightly reassured by the dark-haired girl’s nod.

“Okay, I have recently learned I may be more than a little bit gay.” The white-haired girl flinched away, awaiting Blake’s imminent tirade.

“Really? That’s what this has been about?” Her tone was filled with incredulity and Weiss had to look back at her in disbelief.

“Why aren’t you shouting? You’re supposed to be shouting right now, telling me I’m a filthy degenerate.”

“Filthy degenerate? Who told that nonsense?” Blake sounded slightly angry now, making Weiss sink back into her chair. She wracked her brains trying to remember how she knew he was a terrible perverted monster.

“I don’t know…” She moaned miserably, burying her head in her hands. “All I know is that whenever I have these… thoughts about women, there’s a voice in the back of my head that starts telling me that it’s wrong.”

Blake frowned slightly. “So do you think I’m a ‘filthy degenerate’ then?” Weiss looked up in horror.

“What?! No of course not!”

“Why not? You seem to think being gay is wrong or something and clearly you think that of yourself. So why not me?” Blake tilted her head, eyes boring into Weiss who started squirming awkwardly, trying to come up with a reason.

“I… I just can’t be gay.” Weiss tried, only to be met with a sceptical eyebrow. “Tell me then, please. I have no idea what to think or say anymore.” She could feel tears welling up and she tried desperately to force them back. “If what I’m thinking is wrong, then I can’t trust myself. And if I can’t trust myself, then what can I?”

“Weiss, this isn’t something I can tell you, you need to work some of this out yourself. But, I do think that self-hatred just comes naturally to you now. You’ve spent so long being told that you’re a monster for being a Faunus or that you’re not good enough for whatever reason your father gave you. Now you’ve moved past your issues about you heritage you’ve latched onto this as something new to hate yourself for.” Blake’s eyes were filled with empathy as she leaned forward to keep eye contact as Weiss ducked down into her knees again.

“Weiss, I’m no stranger to hating yourself for things like this. I was terrified when I realised I was a lesbian, I thought it would be just something else people would hate me for, so I hated myself for it. And then I tried to force myself to not be gay. It ended… badly,” Blake’s hand performed its familiar motion, gripping her bicep, “for unrelated reasons, but I’d never have gotten into that in the first place if I hadn’t thought I could force myself to be straight.”

Weiss’ eyes peeked over the arms now wrapped around her knees. “How did you get past it?”  Blake’s head drooped.

“Honestly, I haven’t, not completely.” Weiss’ face fell, if Blake couldn’t get over this, then what chance did she have? “It’s something I’ve been working at for months now and it’s not easy sometimes, but it’s worth it.” She smiled slightly. “I don’t want to tear my hair out whenever I just look at a girl anymore, I don’t feel guilty all the time for wanting to be with a woman, that my feelings are beautiful and not something I should be hated for.”

“That sounds…” Amazing? Freeing? “Great. But I don’t know if I can do it.”

“For a start, maybe try to ignore that voice you say keeps telling you what you feel is wrong. It’s not like there’s a set way to go about this.”

“I-I’ll try.” Weiss eventually decided. “Although would you mind not telling Yang about this and ask her to stop asking about that session on Wednesday?”

Blake looked mildly uncomfortable with this but agreed. “Sure, I’ll talk to her.”

“Thank you.” A thought occurred to Weiss. “Hey Blake, if you’re gay, how come you went to the dance with Sun?”

The dark-haired girl just shrugged. “He was the only person to ask. Well I guess Yang did ask me for the first dance, but I think she was just being nice. I just didn’t want to go alone.” She stood up again, lightly brushing at her clothes. “I’m going to go finish packing for tomorrow, would you like to come with me or do you want to stay here?”

“I finished my packing yesterday and I’d rather stay here thanks. I have a lot to process.” Blake nodded in agreement before walking off. Now sat on her own, Weiss unfolded herself from the chair back into a more relaxed position. Closing her eyes, she conjured up an image of Ruby wearing her outfit for the dance in her mind bringing a blush to Weiss’ face as she imagined herself pulling Ruby down into a chaste kiss. At once the voice in the back of her mind started hissing insults and hateful words at her. However this time Weiss actively tried to ignore it, her own internal monologue not joining in as it had before. Quietly she started to mutter.

“I’m not a pervert. What I feel is not wrong.” She continued like this for a little while before finally breaking off. It had gotten slightly easier to ignore the voice but it was still there, whispering away.

Still, Weiss supposed it was a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, first chapter on the new posting schedule. I don't really have much to say about this one, although I will note I found this was one of the hardest chapters to write. Mostly because my experiences with internalised homophobia come from a different place to Weiss and are actually closer to what Ruby went through a while back.
> 
> Anyway, as always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	24. Chapter 24

The next morning found Team RWBY awake bright and early, the away mission would begin later but half of the team had neglected to make any preparations.

“Honestly Ruby, you really should be more prepared.” Weiss grumbled as she helped her partner sort various dust cartridges for Crescent Rose.

“But you’re super organised so all I need’s you!” The brunette smiled charmingly, reducing Weiss to a stuttering mess.

“Don’t say things like that you dolt.” She tried to reprimand, though there was no real force behind the words. Meanwhile a quiet snickering came from behind Weiss as Yang tried to hold back her laughter. “Oh don’t you start Xiao Long!” Weiss whirled on the blonde, pointing a menacing finger at her, wings flared. “You haven’t packed either!”

“Eh, don’t need to, I’ve got everything I need right here.” She patted the small pouch she wore at her belt. Weiss’ hand met her face with a loud smack.

“Yang, you need to take more than just ammunition.” Her groan muffled by her palm.

“There’s trail mix in there.” Yang shrugged nonchalantly. Weiss felt like her hand was going to force its way through her face at this rate.

“Blake, can you please tell your partner she needs to pack properly?” The heiress glanced around the room, only to find a complete lack of Blake. “Where’d she go?”

“Blake went to grab the post before we left.” Ruby piped up, busy stuffing what looked suspiciously like a whole cooked turkey into her bag. How she managed to even acquire such a thing, Weiss didn’t know and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. Although she had a shrewd suspicion Nora was involved somehow.

“I see…” Weiss sighed, now she had to herd the two sisters by herself. “Right, Ruby, do you have your emergency rations?”

“Yep!” Ruby gestured at the turkey, now comically stuffed into the rucksack. It wasn’t even worth arguing.

“I still don’t know why we’re doing this, missions are assigned just before departure so we don’t know what we’ll need.” Yang spoke up from her seat on her bunk.

“Because we checked where we’re going Yang and there’s no civilisation there, well almost none. There looks to be some sort of abandoned city but not much else.”

“Which sounds like the perfect place for the White Fang to set up.” Blake stated, having just returned with an odd cylindrical package. “It’s addressed to you, Yang.” She tossed it over to the blonde who stood to catch it.

“Hey, it’s from dad!”

Ruby gasped in excitement. “Ooh, what’s in it?” Before any of them could stop her, Ruby had shot up and was now wrapped around her sister’s waist flailing at the parcel which in all the activity popped open, dropping a small black, oddly hairy cylinder. Curiously, the four all peered down at the item, which to Weiss’ horror, started jerking around. To her utter bewilderment it expanded with a pop into a small black and white dog.

Blake let out an undignified screech and promptly leapt onto Ruby’s bunk whilst Weiss’ shriek of surprise was far more subdued as she jumped back only a few feet. However, their respective cries of terror and surprise were drowned out by Ruby’s shout of “Zwei!” as she scooped up the dog and started dancing around the room with it.

“Your father sent a dog?” Blake squeaked from her perch.

“By post of all things!?” Weiss added, edging closer to get a better look at the furry thing.

“Eh, he does stuff like this all the time.” Yang shrugged, unsure as to what else to say.

“Your father or the dog?” Blake looked as though she was about to start hissing and spitting.

Weiss meanwhile had a more reasonable response. “You mean to say this mangy…” He swivelled in Ruby’s arms to look at Weiss who felt her resolve waning. “Drooling…” His mouth opened in a wide yawn before continuing to look right at her, tongue lolling out of his goofy face. “Mutt, is going to live with us forever!?” Resolve completely gone, Weiss shot over to Ruby and began petting Zwei. “Oh yes he is, yes he is! He’s so adorable!” She squealed gleefully, not noticing the slight look of displeasure on Ruby’s face.

“Please, keep it away from my things, especially my books.” Blake intoned from up above whilst Weiss continued to fuss over the dog. “Also we need to go report to the amphitheatre.”

Weiss looked up at the other Faunus in horror. “But we can’t just leave him here!” She whined as Ruby let Zwei down, who promptly scampered over below Blake and started yapping up at her.

“Well, there is a letter.” Yang had been rummaging around inside the package. “’Dear girls, I’ve got to leave the island for a few days so can you take care of Zwei. There should be enough food enclosed. Love you both, Dad’.” Yang shook the package hard and a comically large number of tins of dog food came pouring out.

“What is he supposed to do with that then?” Weiss asked, regarding the pile with some confusion. Then a lone tin opener dropped out and bounced onto the floor.

“Well, that’ll do. Come on girls!” Yang tossed aside the now empty package and led the way out of the room. Weiss just stood there utterly baffled by so many things, chief amongst which was whether Ruby and Yang’s father was some kind of wizard to get that much stuff packed into such a small parcel.

Meanwhile, Blake performed some rather impressive leaps to avoid the yapping Zwei and bolted from the room. Shrugging in confusion, Weiss snagged her jacket and pulled it on.

“Ruby, you coming?”

Oh, yeah. I just need to grab one more thing.” The brunette replied, waving at Weiss to go ahead. Shrugging again, Weiss left the room and began making her way to the amphitheatre.

* * *

 

The four of them were among the last to arrive at the amphitheatre, Ruby have caught up during the walk, hauling an overstuffed rucksack. Weiss could only assume the cause of this was the turkey. Quickly they took their places amongst the other Beacon first years, Ruby dropping her bag with the rest of the luggage as Professor Goodwitch called for attention. Weiss felt a twinge of guilt and tried to make herself as small as possible as the Professor’s gaze swept across the crowd whilst Professor Ozpin made his way to the front of the stage for a speech.

“Thank you Glynda, I’ll try to keep this brief as I’m sure many of you are eager to begin your first away mission. Today we stand united, Mistral, Atlas, Vacuo and Vale. The four kingdoms of Remnant. But it was not so long ago that we were part of a bitter and bloody conflict. The largest war in recorded history came to an end nearly eighty years ago. A war of ignorance and oppression. A war about more than border or trade but about individualism itself.”

Weiss shuffled uncomfortably in second-hand guilt; she was very much aware of her home kingdom’s actions in the lead up to the war. The suppression of art, of music and the individuality of people themselves, something that still pervaded Atlas culture to this day. The war might’ve been over for years, but its after-effects were still felt. Weiss shook herself and refocused on Professor Ozpin’s speech.

“As many of you know many who opposed this tyranny began to name their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: colour. Their way of demonstrating neither they nor the generations to come would tolerate such oppression. Today we encourage individuality, freedom of expression and unity through diversity so that we may stand together. So while the rest of the world can live in peace, it our job as hunters to work to uphold it. You will be shadowing a professional hunter on mission, wherever that may take you. Just remember that no matter where you go, be safe, keep your training in mind and do your very best.”

Ozpin stepped back and vanished from the stage as the students began to file out, team RWBY going with the flow.

“I don’t know about you three, but that is not what I’d call brief.” Yang groaned, yawning widely.

“Hush, don’t be rude.” Weiss elbowed Yang in the side.

“Focus girls, we need to find a hunter working in the southeast.” Ruby chided, pulling them towards a group of holographic notice board labelled ‘Search and Destroy’. “Let’s see…” The four scanned over the notices until Ruby spoke up. “Here we go! Quadrant 5 needs Grimm cleared out and it’s in the southeast!”

“Are there any others?” Weiss asked peering at the finer details listed. It looked fairly standard, your usual find Grimm, exterminate Grimm mission.

“Not that I can see.” Yang scanned over the others briefly.

“Okay then!” Ruby keyed in their team name and hit the accept button, only for a large error message to pop up and inform them that the mission was forbidden to first years.

“What, why is this even here if first years aren’t allowed?” Yang asked incredulously whilst the other three deflated.

“Any other ideas?” Blake queried, head hung low.

“Well… We could post ourselves there!” Ruby suggested with a grin. Weiss just shook her head vigorously.

“Absolutely not, I have no intention of undergoing whatever process your poor dog went through to get him to fit inside that package!”

Weiss’ rant about the ethics of sending live animals through the Vale Postal Service was interrupted by an amused voice “That certainly is one option.”

The four spun around to see Professor Ozpin stood behind them. “Unfortunately, we only recently determined that the concentration of Grimm was too extreme for first years to handle, but neglected to pull the mission it seems.” He inspected the board a little closer. “Hmm, it would seem this particular region is rather popular, in fact I’m sure the four of you will make your way there regardless of what mission you select and any requests I may have previously made of you.” The four all suddenly found the sky and the ground incredibly interesting.

“Whatever would make you say that sir?” Ruby piped up nervously.

“Well the four of you seem to be very driven individuals who have a certain sense of disregard for rules when it comes to doing what you think is right. So rather than wait for you to break any more, why don’t we just make some adjustments to them instead hmm?” He fished out his scroll and fiddled with it momentarily and the screen behind them pinged cheerily, a large green tick manifesting.

“We won’t let you down! Thank you, Professor.” Ruby addressed the headmaster whilst the other three exchanged excited glances.

“Don’t thank me for this. Teamwork, persistence and no small amount of luck have carried you this far. But make no mistake, the things that await beyond the bounds of the kingdom won’t care. Stay close to your huntsman and do exactly as he says. He leads this mission and can and will send you back to Beacon if he finds your skills unsatisfactory. Good luck girls.” With that, Professor Ozpin turned and walked off, leaving a much more subdued group.

“Well that was uplifting.” Yang tried to inject some humour into the sombre mood.

“It was the truth. Blake shrugged. “I’ve had first-hand experience of how dangerous it can be out in the wilderness, sugar coating it won’t help.”

The other three looked at Blake in shock and it was Weiss who spoke up first. “You’ve been outside in the wilds?”

“Well yeah, not exactly able to stay in a five-star hotel when you’re a member of the… you-know. We had to rough it a few times.” Blake told them as they slowly made their way out, collecting their bags and heading to the airfield.

“It’ll be tough, but I know we can do it!” Ruby cheered, leading the way with her massive bag. “Hey, isn’t that Velvet?” Sure enough, there was Velvet walking across the grounds looking rather down. Weiss hadn’t seen Velvet or any of Team CFVY in a couple of weeks, even though their mission ended a few days ago. Quickly the four of them jogged over.

“Hey Velvet? Are you okay?” Blake asked the rabbit Faunus who jerked in momentary surprise.

“Oh hey Blake. I’m fine thanks, just running an errand for Coco.” She still looked sort of upset.

“Did something happen on your mission?” Weiss joined in softly.

“I guess… There were just so many Grimm and Yatsu took a few bad hits, so we’ve just been recovering for a few days. Coco’s in a bad way, she’s been mourning her favourite pair of sunglasses, a Beowolf got them.” Velvet shrugged. “We’ll be fine after a few days, just need to decompress. I should get going, Coco’ll get mad if I’m not quick with her mocha frappé. Good luck with your mission and please, try to be safe.” The brown-haired girl trotted away leaving behind an even more sober Team RWBY.

“We can do this right?” Weiss piped up nervously, this was starting to sound really quite dangerous.

“Come on Weiss, we can do this. We’ve never backed down before and we’re not starting now.” Ruby gave Weiss a blinding grin which Weiss couldn’t help but feel heartened by.

“You’re right.” She agreed, reassured by this. Ruby always had a way of making Weiss feel better. A feeling that was dulled somewhat by guilt as the voice in the back of her mind started up again.

Groaning internally and trying to ignore the spiteful voice, she followed the other three as they continued on their way.

“I wonder who it is we’ll be shadowing.” Yang mused.

“Well Professor Ozpin said it’s a huntsman so that narrows it down a little.” Blake replied, cocking her head in thought.

“Ooh, what if it’s Uncle Qrow?” Ruby squealed in excitement, bouncing up and down as they walked.

“I’m pretty sure it won’t be Uncle Qrow.” Yang stated flatly. “He’s probably busy doing whatever it is he does when he ain’t drinking.” Oh, this uncle did not sound like a suitable supervisor for a trip, or anything really.

“Well whoever it is I’m they’ll be super cool and awesome!” Ruby’s excitability refused to be contained as she bounced around as they approached the airfield.

“Hello girls! Ready to fight for your very lives!” A painfully familiar voice called out from a nearby airship making the four of them freeze in place and turn to face the person who called for them.

“Professor Oobleck!?” Weiss was stunned, no way was the huntsman they were shadowing Professor Oobleck.

“Yes. I’m afraid those bags won’t be necessary, seeing as you’ve decided to shadow a huntsman on what amounts to a reconnaissance mission we will not be establishing a base of operations and instead travelling light and covering several miles worth of hazardous wasteland whilst making camp in any defensible location we find. I’ve packed our essentials myself and readied the airship. Just one last thing, it’s _Doctor_ Oobleck, I didn’t earn my PhD for fun you know.” Weiss wasn’t entirely sure whether he took any breaths during his speech and squeaked quietly as he got right in her face for the last sentence.

“Sorry Prof- I mean Doctor.” Ruby meanwhile looked horrified by something and was shifting her bag around nervously.

“Right, come now girls. We haven’t a moment to waste, according to my schedule, we’re already 3 minutes behind schedule.” And with that he zipped off into the airship. There was a brief silence before Ruby spoke.

“Well alright! Looks like we’re going to save the world with Doctor Oobleck. Oh man that sounds a whole lot worse when you say it out loud.”

“You’re saving the world _without us_!” An obnoxiously loud voice cried out in despair from behind them. The team turned to see Team JNPR approaching. “I’m hurt, hurt and sad! Also maybe a little hungry. That one’s not on you though, _Ren_.” The boy just crossed his arms and looked away.

“Sounds exciting. Where are you all headed?” Jaune asked whilst Pyrrha stood quietly to the side.

“Oh, just outside the kingdom.” Ruby deflected, but before Jaune could pull on the thread, Nora piped up.

“Ooh, so are we!” She grinned happily

“Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village, we set out tomorrow.” Pyrrha filled in helpfully.

“Oh sweet, then you can hang with us tonight!” Weiss nearly jumped as another voice sounded and Neptune and Sun approached, why was everyone here all of a sudden? Especially if some weren’t leaving until tomorrow. “We’re shadowing a crime specialist, all inner-city detective stuff like in the novels. We even get junior badges.”

“So. Cool.” An awestruck Jaune whispered just loud enough for Weiss to hear.

“Yeah, we normally go into the city with you guys so there’s always stuff exploding. We thought this would be a better way to check out the kingdom when it’s, well y’know, normal.” Sun supplied, smirking a little at Jaune’s expression.

“Hey, not all of that was out fau-.” Ruby tried to protest but was interrupted by a call from the airship.

“ _Four_ minutes ladies!” The four of them winced in embarrassment.

“Well, hope your stuff goes well!” Ruby told their assembled friend and led the way to the airship.

* * *

 

The journey out started quietly, but eventually Yang got bored and struck up a conversation with Oobleck. “I’m kinda surprised that you’re the one supervising us. I guess I never really saw you as much of a fighter.”

The Doctor pushed his glasses up his nose before responding. “I admit I do prefer to think of myself as more of an intellectual. I can however assure you I have had my fair share of tussles.”

Ruby leaned over to the others. “Aren’t those mushrooms?” She asked, scratching her head.

“Those are truffles.” Blake corrected quietly.

“Like the sprout?”

“Those are Brussels.” Yang muttered.

“Like the-.” Ruby was about to ask but was stopped by Weiss.

“Can we not play a game of ‘Ruby doesn’t know words’ please.” She sighed, before returning her attention to Doctor Oobleck.

“And besides, it’s because of my expertise in history and a few dabblings in archaeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw fit to assign me to this particular assignment.”

Weiss couldn’t resist asking. “What does history have to do with this?”

“What a preposterous question, you silly girl!” Okay, that was mean. Weiss barely listened to the rest of what Oobleck had to say, sulking a little, only to be pulled back by a gentle nudge in her ribs from Ruby setting her face ablaze.

“You okay?” She murmured quietly. After a moment, Weiss nodded bringing a small smile to Ruby’s face.

“It is also the location of one of the kingdom’s greatest failures.” Doctor Oobleck had continued talking.

“Mountain Glenn.” Ruby spoke, Weiss was just confused, what was Mountain Glenn? Maybe she should’ve been more thorough in her research of where they were going.

“Right, it was an expansion of Vale, right? But it got overrun by Grimm and fenced off.” Yang supplied a more detailed answer. Weiss shuddered, that did not sound pleasant at all.

“Correct. And now it stands derelict as a dark reminder of how treacherous our world can really be.”

“As well as a likely place for a hideout.” Blake’s eyes narrowed at the concrete masses just in the distance.

“Precisely.” Oobleck grinned with approval, making Weiss feel even sulkier.

The remainder of the flight passed quickly and soon enough, the four girls and one doctor landed in one of the empty streets of Mountain Glenn. The airship taking off immediately after they touched down as they formed up in a defensive circle around their unarmed teacher.

“Ladies you may still be students, but as of now you are huntresses and you must do exactly as I say. Do you understand?” The four nodded in assent. “Excellent, then let’s begin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we reach the home stretch of vol. 2. Unfortunately not much is really happening right now, but the set up is important and nothing is irrelevant whenever I'm writing. Besides, it can be nice to take a breather between Weiss having mental health issues and wall to wall fights. Oh and if anyone was interested, the next line in the game of 'Ruby doesn't know word' was going to be "Like the shellfish?"
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	25. Chapter 25

It took a full minute for the mission to go off the rails. Which was probably a new record for them.

“Ruby! I thought I told you leave your bags at school!” Doctor Oobleck pointed at the overstuffed rucksack Weiss hadn’t noticed Ruby smuggle onto the airship.

“Er, well you hadn’t told us to listen to you yet. So I didn’t.” Weiss could feel the faint flickers of annoyance at Ruby’s words as Oobleck muttered to himself briefly.

“Alright Ruby, leave your bag here. We’ll pick it up upon our return.” He pointed to the side of the road at which Ruby started panicking and flailing and was it just Weiss or had the bag started wriggling?

“Young lady, what could possibly be in that bag that could be so impor-?” The doctor was cut off as a small fuzzy head popped out of the rucksack, a very familiar head that sent Blake leaping backwards.

“We are here to investigate an urban jungle filled with death, hostility and Grimm, and you brought a dog?” Weiss braced herself for the explosion. “Genius!” Wait what? Before any of them could react, Doctor Oobleck had shot forward and pulled Zwei out of the bag and was spinning on the spot with him talking a mile a minute about the tracking capabilities of dogs. Meanwhile Ruby just looked smug.

“I’m a genius!” She crowed, practically oozing smugness. Weiss heard Yang’s hand smack into her face and a muffled curse. Weiss on the other hand just huffed and turned away. Of course when Ruby disobeys direct orders she gets praised for it, but when Weiss asks a simple question she gets berated. She knew it was petty, but she was in a petty mood right now.

“So what are your orders Doctor?” Blake called their attention back to the fact they were standing in the middle of a Grimm infested zone.

“Ah yes. Right to the chase then. Excellent.” The Doctor suddenly dropped Zwei and sped over to Blake, hands folded behind his back. “Now, as you are aware, this area has been marked as a hotspot for Grimm activity. There are several possible explanations for this, one of which being Grimm.”

“Uh, like really bad or…?” Ruby looked perplexed by this.

“No, Grimm, a creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards away from us.” The four girls whirled around and sure enough there was a Beowulf just down the street. In sync, they all readied their weapons and prepared to descend upon the hapless creature when they were interrupted by a shout.

“Stop!” The girls lowered their weapons minutely, still keeping half an eye on the creature and returning their attention to Doctor Oobleck. “As I was about say before, there are a number of reasons why Grimm congregate in an area, most likely being their attraction to negativity: sadness envy, loneliness, hatred.” Blake shifted uneasily at his description. “All qualities likely held by our hidden group.”

“So, what do we do?” Ruby asked, sounding slightly worried.

“We wait and we track it. If this one leads us to its pack they may subsequently lead us to this group.”

Blake raised a questioning eyebrow. “So how long do we wait?”

“I’m not certain. It could be hours, days, maybe even weeks. Grimm have been observed to stay isolated from their pack for mon-andthere’sthewholepack.” Sure enough, another five Beowolves emerged from a nearby street and met up with the lone one before looking right at the group as more stalked out of the side streets.

“And now they’ve seen us.” The Doctor supplied unhelpfully as Weiss panicked slightly, all that talk of danger outside the kingdom had put her on edge and here it was snarling and slavering right in front of them.

“They’ve what?” She squawked.

“And now they’ve seen us!” Oobleck suddenly appeared in front of Weiss yelling at her. She shrank back from him in momentary fear, noticing out of the corner of her eye Blake flinched away too.

“I guess tracking them is out of the question?”

“That would be accurate, yes.” Oobleck replied, sliding back away from Weiss.

“What’s the plan then?” Yang cocked her gauntlets, very clear as to what she hoped the answer was.

“Show me what you’re capable of.”

Yang didn’t need further instruction, with a deafening bang, she launched herself forward at the lead Beowolf, slamming a massive punch into it, sending it flying back into several others. Keeping her momentum up, she followed through, crashing towards the rest of the pack whilst the rest of the team darted in behind her. Weiss lost track of the others momentarily as several Beowolves elected to focus on her. Dodging a paw swipe from one, Weiss rolled out of the way and led them on a short chase, glancing behind frequently for the perfect set-up.

There!

Weiss leapt up onto a glyph, spinning round and using it as leverage to launch herself at the first Beowolf chasing her, slicing cleanly through and using her momentum to rush past the other three who had all lined up so neatly for her. Three quick slices later and three more Beowolves were left dead. Glancing around at her teammates to see if any of them needed help, Weiss saw Ruby dispatch the last one, bisecting it with a swing of that massive scythe of hers, a massive smile plastered across her face. In that moment, Weiss thought she’d never seen Ruby so alive and vibrant before. She was the most beautiful thing Weiss had ever seen.

“Weiss, get your head outta the clouds.” Yang had sidled up behind Weiss and jabbed her sharply to break her from her stupor.

“Sorry, sorry.” Weiss muttered, looking away from Ruby.

“Hey, I get it. I could stare at Blake all day. But this place is super dangerous and we can’t get distracted, so control your thirst.” Yang smirked in amusement as Weiss spluttered in outrage.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about! And I’m not thirsty, I had a drink before we left.” Weiss huffed even more as Yang broke into chuckles which were interrupted by Doctor Oobleck.

“Come along now ladies, don’t dilly dally. We have a lot of ground to cover.” With Oobleck taking the lead, they all followed deeper into the ruins.

* * *

 

It was only after the third pack of Beowolves the girls annihilated that Yang spoke up.

“Hey, Doc, what gives? I was kinda looking forward to seeing a real pro I’m not related to in action, or y’know fighting or helping us fight.” Oobleck frowned slightly in response.

“Ah but I am ‘in action’ Miss Xiao Long, searching through these ruins for anything out of place. Not every mission is about heroism and daring, a lot of the time it’s just glorified extermination. Don’t forget, this is a job first and foremost and you all signed up for it.” He looked at each of them in turn. “I hope you understand that.”

“Well yeah… I mean of course!” Yang flailed under the Doctor’s scrutiny whilst Weiss and Blake just nodded vigorously. Ruby however, was busy playing with Zwei and not paying any attention.

“I see. Well, shall we move on then ladies?” Without waiting for an answer, he strode off leaving the four to catch up with him.

* * *

 

Later on, Weiss noticed something odd whilst eviscerating yet another Beowulf. Doctor Oobleck and Yang off to one side talking quietly. She watched with interest as she pulled the blade from the smoking corpse. Whatever conversation was happening concluded and Oobleck wandered off leaving an uneasy looking Yang.

Looking around and seeing no other Grimm nearby, Weiss made her way over to Yang.

“You okay?” Yang started and slapped a weak grin on her face, turning to face her.

“Yeah, fine. Oobleck was just asking why I wanted to be a huntress.” Weiss glanced over at the strange doctor who was busy sifting through some rubble.

“That’s odd.” She murmured, turning back to Yang.

“I guess.” The blonde shrugged. “The others are moving on, we should get going.” She jogged away over to Blake whilst Weiss followed at a slightly slower pace, wondering exactly what their supervisor was up to.

* * *

 

Weiss didn’t have to wait for long for at least something of an answer. Whilst she was in the midst of fighting through a pack of Beowolves, a voice called down from above her.

“So, Miss Schnee. Why did you choose this line of work over a nice cushy job in Atlas? A girl such as yourself, born into fame and fortune, certainly doesn’t need to work like this.”

Surprised by the voice, Weiss almost missed her next strike, but was just able to correct and run the last Beowolf through. Kicking the dissolving corpse off her blade, she looked up at Doctor Oobleck who hung out of a window above her. She mulled over the question for a minute before answering.

“I want to honour my family’s legacy. Ever since father took over the company, he’s corrupted and twisted it into something unbefitting the Schnee name. By following in my grandfather’s footsteps, I can do something to redeem it.” She thought she saw an eyebrow raise over the doctor’s unusually opaque glasses as she looked up at him.

“Interesting.” And then he ducked back inside the building, leaving Weiss with a sense of unease. First Yang, now her, she supposed it was only a matter of time before he interrogated Blake and Ruby as well. The ‘why’ however, still eluded her and why did she feel so discomforted by his non-answer?

* * *

 

Weiss wasn’t sure why she was surprised as she watched Ruby impale the turkey she’d still managed to bring, despite the presence of a dog in her bag, on the end of her scythe and begin to tease said dog with it. So distracted was she by this frankly, adorable behaviour, she almost didn’t notice Doctor Oobleck approaching. She discreetly tried to catch her partner’s attention, she absolutely did not want Ruby on the receiving end of one of Oobleck’s little shouting sessions. Unfortunately she did not notice Weiss’ gestures or the approaching huntsman until he was within a few metres of her.

“Oh, er sorry.” She mumbled, sheathing the weapon and letting the turkey drop to the floor where Zwei set upon it. “Are we ready to move on?” Weiss drew back slightly, waiting for the tirade.

“I think not, this will have to do for today. It’ll be getting dark soon.” Nobody noticed Weiss huff and pout or her immediate regret afterwards. “You three set up camp whilst your leader and I secure the perimeter. Oh and do make sure there are no more of those… creatures around.” Without another word, he tossed his rucksack at Yang and marched off with Ruby in tow.

“You think he’s going to ask her?” Yang muttered to the other two as they walked into the building.

“Probably, he hasn’t cornered her yet.” Blake agreed, clearing rubble away from the floor.

“I don’t know…” Something about the Doctor’s questions still had her on edge a little, like he was trying to tell them something but being annoyingly enigmatic about it. They were silent for the next few minutes as they ensured the area was clear and set out their things, Weiss still mulling over what she’d said to the Doctor. Finally Yang spoke up as Weiss ignited the fire with a burst of aura through a Dust crystal.

“I just can’t believe we didn’t find anything.” She moaned, flopping down by the fire.

“Maybe Ozpin was right about us having been lucky the last few times. We were just fortunate to be in the right place as the right time.” Blake sat down beside Yang, warming herself on the flames.

“That’s not what I meant, at least, I don’t think it was.” Weiss finally gave voice to her musings on Oobleck’s question, having pretty much ignored Blake and Yang’s conversation.

“Sorry, what?” The Black and Yellow pair looked up at where Weiss was leant up against a crumbling wall.

“What I told Oobleck, upholding the legacy. There’s more to it than that, but I don’t know. It feels like he wanted to hear something more.” Now that she was actually saying it out loud, things were starting to click together in Weiss’ mind, though she still couldn’t quite see the full picture yet.

“Yeah, me too… I guess? I don’t know.” Yang looked incredibly doubtful of herself as she gazed into the flickering flames.

“I don’t really know either. I told him what I want to do, but maybe that wasn’t enough?” Blake added, leaning into Yang’s side.

“Well it doesn’t matter what he thinks, so long as we know why we’re here, right?” An unsettling silence fell over the three as they contemplated Yang’s words and found their answers wanting. Their thoughts interrupted by an unnecessarily loud voice.

“Ah, wonderful! A textbook campfire!” Doctor Oobleck ducked into the room, followed by Ruby and Zwei, both of whom ran over to sit by the roaring fire.

“So warm…” Ruby murmured, holding her hands out to the heat.

“Right, eat your dinners and get some rest, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and you’ll need to take it in turn to keep watch. Any volunteers?” Not looking, Ruby raised her hand. The Doctor nodded briefly and vanished into the upper floors. After a moment, Ruby got up and moved towards a window but was caught by Yang.

“Hey Rubes, did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a huntress?”

Ruby cocked her head in confusion. “Uh, nope. Weird. Oh well, night girls.” And she carried on her merry way, Zwei trotting after her.

Now even more uneasy, Weiss unrolled her sleeping mat and after a quick check of the Dust chambers, placed Myrtenaster beside her. Closing her eyes, Weiss tried to ignore that nagging feeling that something was going on and sleep instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm posting this early because normally I do final edits, write the notes and post the chapter before I go to work in the morning. I'm unable to do that this week because I need to be up extra early to catch a train and the hour or so I take on this means I'd basically get no sleep. So yay! Early chapter! Again there's not much to say about the chapter since I've somewhat limited myself with the canon, but I'd like to think there's enough difference in the way events have unfolded that there's enough original material in here. 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	26. Chapter 26

“Hey Blake, you awake?” Weiss’ light doze was disturbed by Yang’s hushed voice. Truth be told, she doubted she would actually get some proper sleep owing to an unfortunate combination of having to keep her wings cooped up in her jacket and anxiety over Oobleck’s questions.

“Yeah.” Blake replied quietly.

“Why do you think he asked us about why we wanted to be huntresses?” Yang finally spoke aloud the million lien question they’d all been contemplating.

“Maybe he was just curious?” Weiss could hear the scepticism in Blake’s own voice as she made the suggestion.

“You really think that?” Yang’s own scepticism matched her partner’s.

“I don’t.” Came the flat response.

“Hey Weiss, are you awake?” Weiss could hear Yang shuffle slightly to look at her.

“No.” She heard a faint groan of annoyance as she kept her eyes firmly shut. “Of course I’m awake. And I think he…” Weiss had a few ideas as to why the Doctor had asked them but she didn’t want to voice them just yet, so she changed tack. “I told him I wanted to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps and it wasn’t a lie. If I’d just taken a cushy job in Atlas I wouldn’t have changed anything, I needed to prove to myself and others that I can take control and undo what father has done. Especially since now I have an even more personal stake in the matter.” She shifted her wings for emphasis before remembering they weren’t out and the other two couldn’t see them. She could also hear some uncomfortable shuffling from Blake who spoke next.

“All my life I’ve fought what I thought was right. Back when I was with the White Fang, with my partner,” Weiss noticed Yang stiffen slightly at this, but Blake didn’t seem to notice and carried on. “He would always tell me we were making a better world for our people. It took me so long to realise his vision of a perfect future wasn’t so perfect for everyone and that ends didn’t always justify means.” She sighed deeply.

“Even after I left, I still wanted to do something good and to atone for what I’d done. I joined the academy because hunters are regarded as the noblest of warriors, always fighting for good and a safer world. But I never really thought past what I would do with that. How does this lead to undoing all those years of hatred?”

Blake went silent and Weiss heard Yang shuffling over to her. “You’ll figure it out. You’re the smartest person I know and you’re not someone who backs down from a challenge.” She heard the blonde try to reassure her partner.

“But I am and I do it all the time. I run away and avoid conflicts. When you learned I’m a Faunus, I ran. When I realised the man I thought I loved was a monster, I ran. And before then, I’d never stand up to him and always try to appease him so he wouldn’t get angry. Even my Semblance, I leave behind a shadow of myself to take the hit whilst I run away. My default response to everything is passivity” Blake sounded utterly miserable and dejected and Yang didn’t sound much better when she started talking.

“Well at least you have something that drives you. I just kinda go with the flow, y’know? That’s who I am and I know it’s unsustainable and I can’t do it forever. But I always figured I’d work it out when I got there. I want to be a huntress for the thrill and adventure, not just to help people, though that is a plus.” She sighed and it sounded like she’d settled back into a more comfortable position.

“I’m not like Ruby. She’s always wanted to be a hunter, huntress I mean, like mom. Ever since she was a little kid, she knew it was what she was supposed to be. Be the hero, help people and save the day. Asking for nothing in return except the knowledge she’d done a good job.” It felt like the last piece had clicked for Weiss as she remembered a conversation months ago on a rooftop.

“Ruby asked me once whether I really wanted to be a huntress or whether it was just a means to an end. Back then I told her it was never my original goal to be a huntress but that I was confused. I guess talking to Oobleck just confirmed I wasn’t as confused as I thought. We’ve all been using this as a way to achieve our own goals and ignoring that this is a job to protect the people and it has to come first. Anything we want has to come after that.”

Her words were met with a contemplative silence and in that quiet moment, an unwelcome thought wormed its way into her head. If being a huntress always came first, what would that mean for Weiss and Ruby? How could they, or for that matter anyone in their line of work, maintain any kind of meaningful relationship when the job always comes first? Sighing quietly, Weiss settled back onto her uncomfortably cramped wings and tried to drift off, thoughts of Oobleck’s hidden lesson and Ruby’s devotion to her cause still swirling in her mind.

* * *

 

Weiss was woken up by a light shaking on her shoulder. “Weiss, wake up. It’s your turn to- Hey, where’s Ruby?” Weiss eyes snapped open and she popped up, nearly smacking her head into Yang’s as she looked wildly around. Sure enough, Ruby was nowhere to be seen.

“What’s going on?” Oobleck seemed to appear from nowhere as Zwei came barrelling into the room barking madly.

“Zwei, where’s Ruby?” Yang asked the dog as he began running in circles around them, yapping incessantly.

“What’s happening?” Blake’s groggy voice came from the floor.

“Grab your weapons. Your leader may be in trouble.” Oobleck instructed, snatching up his thermos of all things. Weiss picked up Myrtenaster and quickly checked her pockets to make sure her other special items were ready. If Ruby was indeed in trouble, she did not want to be unprepared.

“Come on!” Oobleck made for the door, followed by the others and quickly overtaken by Zwei who lead the way into the dark streets. More than once, Yang stumbled over some debris and Oobleck himself also seemed to have some difficulty in navigating whilst Weiss and Blake easily followed the small dog weaving his way through the deserted city.

Eventually he led them to a massive hole in the street and Crescent Rose lying there, which Zwei started pawing at.

“Ruby’s Scythe!” Yang ran over and snatched up the weapon. “Something’s wrong, something’s very wrong.”

“Do you think she fell?” Weiss asked nervously, peering at the hole.

“Fell? Fell where?” Weiss pointed to the hole, which Oobleck had to squint at before his eyes lit up in recognition.

“What are you talking about?” Yang asked looking out into the street, worry tinging her voice with a sense of manic energy.

“That big hole right there!” Weiss gestured towards it wildly. “Can’t you see?”

“Uh no. I can’t see in dark like you and Blake. I don’t have fancy Faunus night vision!” Yang shouted at her, before she slapped her hands over her mouth as she realised what she’d said. Weiss looked back at Oobleck in a panic but he seemed to be busy muttering to himself. Then a realisation hit him and he jerked back like he’d been electrocuted.

“Oh my. Of course! Of course, of course, of course! How could I have been so blind?!” He shouted.

“What wrong Doc?” Yang ventured, looking uneasily at Weiss who’d tensed up in fear.

“Mountain Glenn! It was an expansion of Vale so there were tunnels, subway tunnels for commuters but when the Grimm attacks increased a desperate population evacuated into the metro tunnels and found a massive web of deep caves.” The man ranted, arms flailing wildly.

“What are you saying?” Yang asked, visibly relaxing, her faux pas seemed to have gone unnoticed.

“My dear, we’re not just looking for an underground crime network, we’re looking for an _underground_ crime network.” Weiss would’ve appreciated the word play a little more if she wasn’t currently terrified for Ruby.

“They’ve been working in the subway network?” Blake asked, looking horrified as she glanced into the hole.

“Yes precisely, after the city fell, the survivors all retreated into the tunnels and sealed off the aboveground entrances, making a large underground city. And it worked, for while at least, until an explosion opened up a cavern filled with subterranean Grimm. The Kingdom sealed off the tunnels deeming the whole venture a failure. It was a slaughter.” Weiss’ jaw dropped in horror, they’d sealed off the tunnels and left the people down there to die?

“If Ruby is down there, we need to find her and quickly.” He punctuated this by unfolding the thermos he’d been drinking from all day into some form of bludgeon. Weiss felt a modicum of irritation that he’d been armed the entire time and hadn’t helped, but that was swallowed up by a wave of fear and nausea at the prospect of her partner, unarmed and in the hands of the White Fang in a Grimm infested tomb.

She peered over the edge of the hole with Blake and squinted down. “I think I can see the bottom. How far do you think that is Blake? 20, 30 metres?”

“Closer to 40, I’d say.” The dark-haired girl replied. Weiss nodded and backed up slightly, adjusting her jacket and rolling her shoulders.

“Weiss, you’re seriously not about to do what I think you’re about to do?” Yang asked nervously, eyes flicking back to Oobleck who was stood beside Blake also looking down.

“Ruby’s down there somewhere and I am not letting a bunch of ruffians get their grubby hands on her.” Exhaling slowly and drawing Myrtenaster, Weiss ran forwards and leaped, diving down into the hole. As she flipped, she focused and summoned several glyphs, which she bounced off of to keep control of her velocity and landed smoothly at the bottom.

She looked back up at the stunned faces of the others. “Come on then!” she called up irritably, they were wasting time. Quickly they joined her atop a large building inside a large cavern.

“I have to say, I was not expecting this.” Blake murmured, looking out over the buildings and Weiss nodded in agreement. She wasn’t sure what Yang or Oobleck could see, but the derelict underground city stretching off into a darkness not even her night-vision could penetrate made her far more uneasy than any pack of Grimm ever could. How many people had lost their lives down here? Terrified, abandoned and left to die.

“Come along girls. It looks like there’s been a scuffle here!” They crowded the round the Doctor who was pointing out several marks in the dust then two long lines leading to a door set into the cave wall.

“They’ve got her.” Weiss’ heart sank, who knew what dreadful things they might do to her?

“Blake, the White Fang don’t torture captives or anything right?” She tried to gain some reassurance.

“Not when I was there, but things have changed.” Blake whispered back uneasily. A heatwave suddenly rolled over them, they both looked over at Yang whose eyes had turned blood red.

“They have my sister.” She gritted out in barely suppressed rage. Without another word she strode over to the door and kicked it open with a bang and led the way inside, the others following after a moment of stunned silence.

“Hey who are yo-!?” A cry of alarm was cut off by another bang as Yang’s fist collided violently with the goon’s face and sent him smashing into the wall. But the brawler didn’t stop as she kept marching onwards, at least until she hit a fork in the path.

“Aargh!” She screamed looking down at the ground unable to see the trail.

“It’s this way.” Weiss pointed out the tracks disappearing to the left and down. Yang nodded and began to lead again but Weiss stopped her with a hand. “Perhaps either Blake or I should lead, as we can actually see properly down here. Also maybe we pick up the pace a little.” Yang grunted in frustration but acquiesced and stepped aside letting Weiss jog forward to take her place as point and continue to lead them down into the depths.

She kept a brisk pace as she followed the tracks, encountering a few more White Fang members who were mercilessly frozen solid by an unrelenting Weiss. Part of her knew that she was being reckless and wasting her Ice Dust, but at that moment all she could think about was finding and saving her Ruby.

They must have descended about ten storeys before they reached a large reinforced metal door which refused to budge when Weiss gave it a shove.

“Want me to give it a go princess?” Yang asked cocking a round into her gauntlets, but Weiss shook her head.

“I’ve got this covered, thank you.” Weiss took a steadying breath and set her feet shoulder width apart.

“Be careful, I can hear people on the other side, Blake murmured as Weiss focused on her aura and on keeping her breathing steady.

“Then be ready for a fight and we need to move quickly, no telling what they’ll do to Ruby once they know we’re here.” Oobleck warned, club raised. Weiss fished around inside her jacket and withdrew a pair of Fire Dust crystals and allowed her aura to flow through them. Okay, just like in the forest, she took a deep breath and forced her aura hard through the crystals taking a step forward and thrusting her hands out.

It was all over in three seconds, two glowing red snowflakes span into momentary existence before exploding, sending gouts of flame at the door. It was blasted clean off its hinges and smashed into several unfortunate people stood directly in its path as it went spinning away and finally came to rest a good few hundred metres away. Weiss dropped her stance as a brief wave of exhaustion staggered her, feeling the crystals crumble to nothing in her hands as Oobleck and Yang dashed past her to engage the guards unhurt by the door’s path.

“That was something…” Blake stated from her position beside Weiss, steadying the heiress.

“New technique I’ve been working on.” Weiss wheezed a little, drawing Myrtenaster. “Come on, we need to move. The Faunus pair dashed after the other two as Yang set off her own explosion, knocking away several more White Fang and sending several others running in fear across the large cavern. They quickly regrouped as they headed towards a set of railroad tracks, striking down any White Fang member foolish enough to get within reach of the group. Yang smashed another guard with another explosive punch just as they rounded the corner into a large open expanse, train tracks running off down a tunnel and into the distance.

Off in the distance, stood by a train at the mouth of the tunnel, was a familiar looking white-coated individual. Setting her narrowed gaze firmly on Torchwick, Weiss started running towards Torchwick, fully intent on skewering the man until he told her where her partner was. Suddenly, a red and black hellion leaped onto the reprobate’s head and off again, sprinting towards them.

Ruby! Weiss sped up as did Yang as several of the White Fang and Torchwick began shooting at her. Thankfully, they appeared to be terrible shots, as they missed Ruby by a wide margin.

More worrying was a group of guards who ducked out of an alley and formed a firing line in Ruby’s path. Weiss was about to launch a volley of icicles when a growl and twin explosions sounded from beside her and Yang went sailing forward, smashing into the centre of their line and knocking them aside.

“Ruby!” She cried out, pulling the girl into a massive hug.

“Are you alright, they didn’t hurt you or anything?” Weiss babbled out, looking over the girl for injuries.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” She sounded anything but fine, but carried on before Weiss could protest. “Listen, Torchwick’s got a whole load of weapons and robots down there!” She gestured madly behind her.

“What!?” Blake looked aghast as she passed Ruby her beloved scythe which she hugged briefly.

“Androids, mechs, you name it, they’re all loaded up on the train” She explained, fiddling with her weapon.

“That’s ridiculous! These tunnels have been sealed, there’s nowhere for them to go except a dead end.” Oobleck scoffed. A tannoy screeched overhead, causing Blake to clamp her hands over her bow covered ears.

“Listen up! Get to your places. We’re moving out!” The group all turned to look at the train which started to slowly roll away down the tunnel.

“Well they’re going somewhere!” Yang snorted at Oobleck who had the grace to look slightly sheepish.

“We need back up, I’ll call Jaune.” Ruby fiddled with her scroll.

“Why him of all people?” Weiss grumbled. “And not, I don’t know, an actual hunter?”

“It doesn’t matter, I can’t get through.” Ruby tucked the device away and went back to checking over her weapon.

“Then what do we do?”

“My dears, I believe we only have one option.” Oobleck started.

“We stop that train.” Ruby finished the proclamation with an ominous click from her scythe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels like ages since I last posted, but it's Friday now so I can post, yay! So things are happening, and we're gearing up for a fight which'll be fun. Other than that, not much else to say, or rather whenever I say that, it's more like that there is stuff to talk about but doing so means revealing stuff about plot points further down the line.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	27. Chapter 27

Actually getting on the train had taken some work, but the five plus dog were just about able to climb on before it got too fast. Although Weiss swore them all to secrecy when she had to be thrown bodily onto the train by Yang. Ruby was the last to board, speeding on with her semblance. Climbing into the caboose, Oobleck knocked out a guard with his club and directed them onto the roof.

“Hurry girls, we must get to the front to stop this train.” Whilst the Doctor was talking, Weiss noticed a panel on the roof, slightly ajar and looking out of place. Curious, she lifted it up to reveal an odd-looking device covered in wires.

“Err, Doctor? What’s this?” She pointed down at the thing, which Oobleck knelt down to get a better look at, tucking away his thermos.

“Ah, that my dear, would appear to be a bomb.” The seriousness of his statement was offset by the nonchalance of its delivery, but that did not reassure Weiss in the slightest as she and the other three took a step back now regarding the device with new-found wariness. Then Ruby called out, pointing down the tunnel.

“We’ve got baddies incoming!” Sure enough a large number of White Fang members had climbed atop the train and were carefully making their way down towards them.

“Ah, well I didn’t expect they’d go easy on us.” Oobleck was interrupted halfway through by the bomb lighting up and starting to beep worryingly. “Right, time to go!” Leading the way toward the next carriage. “Blake, detach the caboose or it will kill us all.” The dark-haired girl nodded and vanished into the gap between the carriages whilst the others continued.

Just as the rear car began to slow down and move away, Blake called up “It decoupled itself!” Weiss had a bad feeling about this. Ignoring Oobleck and Yang, she gestured for Ruby to join her as she scanned the roof for- Aha! Another loose panel. The pair pried it up as they heard an explosion behind them causing Weiss to look back at the destruction.

“That is not good…” Weiss heard the Doctor comment from his position on the rear of the carriage.

“Uh, neither is this!” Ruby called from beside Weiss. She refocused on Ruby, the panel they’d just pulled up and the contents of the cavity beneath, another bomb.

“No, no, no.” Oobleck ran past them and hopped over to next car and pried open yet another hatch and froze when he looked in. “They all have bombs!”

Weiss felt her blood freeze, fear gripped her and she could feel the adrenaline flooding through her veins. It was Yang who put words to her thoughts though. “Why? This doesn’t make any sense!” Then a final sounding clunk echoed just ahead of them and their car began to slow down.

Quickly, the quartet plus Zwei leaped over to join Doctor Oobleck on the next cart. Weiss then remembered something, spinning to look at the front of the train more of the White Fang were advancing, the distance between them and team RWBY and co. an awful lot shorter now.

“Get the Humans!” Someone from amongst the group shouted. Weiss wasn’t sure why she was offended by this, probably the adrenaline and mild panic, but regardless of why, she yelled back.

“We’re not all Human, idiot!” Before clapping her hand over her mouth. Recovering, she joined the other three in a battle line and they threw themselves forward at the approaching White Fang. Careful to avoid Yang and Blake who had rushed ahead of her, Weiss got a running start and then kicked off a glyph to skate towards the approaching goons. This was almost too easy as she channelled her aura through Myrtenaster, causing massive spikes of ice to trail in her wake launching White Fang members off the train as she skated between them. Finally losing her momentum, Weiss lashed out at a guard with her blade, knocking him aside. She grinned as she heard the sweet song of her blade as it swung through the air as she continued her advance, slicing effortlessly through the rank and file.

She was momentarily distracted by a streak of crimson blurring past her knocking the last few of the approaching members off the train and reforming into her partner. Weiss couldn’t help but stare in awe at this personification of beauty and deadly grace as Ruby spun her weapon into a ready position.

“He’s leading Grimm into the city!” A call from behind them broke Weiss from her admiration and she turned to face the Doctor in horror.

“What!?” She screeched.

“The cars! They detach and the explosion creates an opening for the Grimm!” Oobleck explained frantically.

Blake summed up what they were all thinking. “That’s insane!” Yang’s summary involved far more curse words.

“We have to hurry, you three,” he gestured to Weiss, Yang and Blake. “Go below and try to stop those bombs.”

“What about us?” Ruby piped up nervously.

“We’re going to stop this train!” Oobleck struck what looked like an attempt at a dramatic pose but Ruby just rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, we know. I said that earlier.” The pair of them plus Zwei started to run towards the front of the train whilst Blake sliced open a hatch and the three dropped down into the belly of the train.

“Finally, somewhere with actual lights.” Yang sighed in relief.

“It’s been a while since I’ve done something like this.” Blake muttered, looking around warily.

“Well, we’ve got a job to do.” Weiss fumbled around momentarily in her jacket and pulled out a little personal project of hers. “Here, Blake. This should help.” She handed the small magazine to Blake who regarded it curiously, before loading it into her pistol.

Taking this as the cue, the three started to run forward, only to have a small, painfully familiar, pink, white and brown-haired girl drop from the ceiling to land in front of them, blocking their path.

“You two go ahead.” Yang growled, stepping forward. “This one’s mine.” Nodding in agreement, Blake and Weiss darted forward, the girl ducked into a battle-ready pose only to be distracted by a shot from Yang, allowing the black and white pair to dodge around the girl and carry on into the next car.

Weiss worried briefly about the wisdom of leaving Yang alone to fight, when the sound of a revving engine up ahead put that thought on hold. Stomping towards them, letting a truly massive chainsaw drag along the floor, was a mountain of a man. The only person Weiss had seen who came close in size was Yatsuhashi. There was a gasp from beside Weiss and she glanced at Blake to see a glimmer of recognition in her eyes as they skidded to a halt.

“Belladonna, there you are traitor.” The man growled out. “I promised Adam I’d hunt you down.” Blake whimpered at the mention of this ‘Adam’, whoever he was, and shrank back minutely in fear.

“I’ve got this. You go on ahead.” She instructed Blake bringing her blade to bear. Blake nodded choppily and ran forward with Weiss, blocking the man’s first down swing and dodging past whilst Weiss unleashed a series of quick strikes, eventually knocking him down. She smirked at the downed man as she saw Blake leave the car. Slowly the man rose to his feet, revving his chainsaw menacingly as he chuckled.

“I may not get a traitor, but at least I get to kill a Schnee.” Unfazed by his threats, Weiss simply raised Myrtenaster en garde, ready for the first phrase. Taking the initiative, the White Fang thug made the first move, swinging his blade only for Weiss to conjure a hardlight forcefield in front of her which he tried in vain to cut through, only to be knocked back as Weiss sliced at him again. He followed up with another overhead down swing, but this time Weiss let the blade hit Myrtenaster and slide harmlessly down it in a shower of sparks, directing it away from her body.

Taking advantage of his overextension, she span once and sliced him again, sending him sliding back which she followed up with a graceful flip over him ending in a decidedly ungraceful stumble, losing all her momentum. Meanwhile, the man got up and swung the chainsaw blade around in a deadly arc at waist level which Weiss instinctively bridged under and continued into another series of backflips which became increasingly difficult to maintain and ended with another stumble at the end. No time to wonder why this was happening, Weiss pressed forward in another flurry of stabs which juggled the man up into the air before letting him crash to the ground following which she once again made the mistake of performing a flip over his prone body to get another angle. The third stumble yet again bleeding her of all the momentum that was crucial to her fighting style.

Surging up from the ground, the man made for another slash which Weiss ducked under and another down swing which she was able to dodge. This time though he was faster than she expected and wasn’t able to dodge the next attack, only just able to bring her blade to bear and instead got knocked back by the sheer force of the blow. The jarring in her arms reminded her of that fight with Cardin earlier that year. This was no time to get distracted though, as she dodged a powerful kick that sent several boxes flying.

Her dodge took her up to the low ceiling from which she launched herself back down sword first at the man only for him to dodge back and force Weiss to make a hasty roll to right herself in time to deflect a blow and backflip out of the way, somehow managing to take advantage of the now expected stumble to slip past his guard and land a solid blow, knocking him back several metres and onto his back.

The thought about Cardin had given her an idea, it hadn’t worked then, but now she was fully combat ready. Taking advantage of the momentary distance between them, Weiss span the chambers on Myrtenaster and channelled her aura into a time dilation glyph. She would never get used to the lurch in her stomach as time around her slowed down. But she fought through the mild nausea and launched herself at the man who’d managed to scramble to his feet. Flicking her right hand in a familiar gesture, she summoned four glyphs around the White Fang member, who looked at them in confusion.

The break in concentration was enough for Weiss, a satisfied grin crossed her face as she sped past the man, striking him as she went, ricocheting off a glyph and speeding back. Just like before, she bounced from glyph to glyph, speed increasing as she finished with a flip onto a freshly summoned glyph and launched down in a move that should have definitively finished the fight. But the thug just managed to dodge back, unbalancing Weiss. Trying to press the advantage, she hopped back up in the air to try again at a downstab.

Only when she was in mid-air did Weiss realise how much of a bad idea this was, remembering her last fight involving aerial manoeuvres. Sure enough, the man reached up with his free hand and wrapped it around Weiss’ face.

“Enough of this!” She heard the guttural growl as she was raised high and brought down, hard. Her head slammed into the ground and she thought she could see stars as she was thrown back up into the air and felt something smash into her side sending her careening into what felt painfully like a wall. Woozily she staggered to her feet only to be met with a hard kick to the abdomen, throwing her backwards again, only this time she sailed farther back and landed with a thump on the floor.

Weiss was just about able to stagger to her feet and narrowly dodged a swipe from the chainsaw which scored a deep gash in the wall. Backing up back towards the centre of the car, Weiss noticed the thug give some sort of box on the wall an appraising look before ramming his weapon into it.

With a shower of sparks bursting from the box, the lights in the carriage went out. Weiss barely noticed, only knowing what to look for when things went dark after years of pretending to be unable to see.

“Let’s see you fight now, pathetic Human.” The man approached her almost lazily, but kept his footsteps quiet as he prowled towards her, even turning off his weapon. Completely unaware she could see him perfectly in the low light. Evidently he wasn’t quite done with toying with her as he took his time to approach, but was treating her with enough wariness just in case.

It wouldn’t be enough. Weiss dropped into en garde once more, facing slightly off from him in the hopes he’d think she was just preparing for the sake of it. She saw his shoulders bob in what she could only assume was a stifled chuckle before he made his move, swinging the silent blade towards her.

Weiss knew she’d only get one shot before he realised she could still see him. Swiftly she ducked under the sloppy swing, popping up and unleashing a flurry of blows into is chest whilst he was off balance. Not giving him any time to recover she stepped inside his guard and launched a burst of fire from Myrtenaster into his centre mass, launching him backwards into the door leading into the next carriage.

He coughed and spluttered, slapping wildly at his front where the fire had ignited his jacket. Evidently the White Fang did not invest in fireproof uniforms. All pretence at trying to be quiet gone, the man revved up his chainsaw and charged head first at Weiss, going for a clumsy feint at her side and instead bringing the weapon down in another devastating swing which Weiss easily avoided and replied with several stabs before rolling around his side and popping up behind him.

“How!? How can you do this?!” The man roared, lashing out with his fist in an attempt to grab her and repeat his floor slam. But Weiss was expecting a trick like that and stepped back neatly out of the way. “Your kind are weak, worthless! How can you see me!?” He took several enraged swipes which Weiss neatly avoided.

For the first time during the fight, Weiss spoke, taunting the man as she danced back from his wildly swinging blade. “Evidently you have no idea who my kind are.” Too buzzed from the adrenaline rush to really pay attention to what she was saying. She’d never been one for quips or witty fight banter like some hunters, so she just said the first things that came to mind.

“And even if I were Human, I’d still be worth more than some two-bit criminal lowlife like you.” Weiss sneered, ducking under the man’s guard yet again to press the advantage, repeatedly targeting the same spot she’d burned.

Too busy insulting the chainsaw-wielding goon, Weiss didn’t notice him make a grab for her until slightly too late. She ducked and he missed the nape of her neck, his hand instead closing around her jacket just below. She couldn’t take another pounding like the one he’d delivered to her earlier so without really thinking, she let Myrtenaster drop from her hands and slithered her arms out of the sleeves as he tried to lift her high.

As she dropped to the floor and scooped up her blade again, she realised what a terrible idea this had been as her wings flared out.

“No… That’s impossible!” If Weiss could see the thug’s mouth, she was sure it would be agape.

“Oh it very much is.” Weiss surged upwards, landing a telling blow from Myrtenaster on him sending him reeling, jacket still clutched in his fist. Recovering, he dropped the offending article of clothing and revved up his chainsaw once again.

“Faunus or not, you’re still a Schnee bastard.” He growled, throwing himself at Weiss, letting the blade scrape along the ground leaving a shower of sparks in its wake which he then flicked up at her face. Weiss parried the blow and cartwheeled out of the way as he brought the weapon back down. Once again focusing on the spot on his chest where his uniform had been burnt away, Weiss sliced away at him whilst his guard was down and finishing off with a swift kick to the knee knocking him into a crouch which she somersaulted over, landing perfectly as her wings flapped to steady her.

This was going nowhere, Weiss seemed to lack the strength to put the man down and it was only a matter of time before he got in another lucky shot. Weiss neatly hopped over the chainsaw as he brought it round in a low sweep as he rose to his feet once more. Only this time he kept his momentum going and continued to spin lashing out with a backhand Weiss hadn’t time to dodge.

Only she didn’t need to dodge as she brought her wing up instinctively and blocked the blow. She felt the impact judder through her torso, but held firm. Moving quickly, she brought her leg up into a powerful kick that sent him sprawling away down the train car. She was about to follow when the door at the end of the car where the thug was pulling himself back up opened, revealing Yang in the glow from the other car.

“Yang, bad guy ten metres in front of you!” Weiss pointed at the recovering goon, hoping Yang could see well enough in the by the light of the carriage she’d just left. Nodding in acknowledgement, Yang charged forward and brought a powerful fist down onto the man’s head, slamming it back down into the floor as the door slid shut behind her, plunging the car back into darkness.

“Is he still moving?” Yang called out in worry. He wasn’t, Yang had knocked him unconscious. Weiss shook her head before remembering Yang couldn’t see her.

“No, he’s not.” Weiss jogged down towards Yang, scooping up her fallen jacket as she went and pulling it on. “Come on, we’ve spent too long down here, let’s find Blake and get back topside to regroup with Ruby.” Grasping the blonde’s hand Weiss pulled her up and towards the front of the train, guiding her through the darkness.

The next carriage yielded quite a surprise, Blake stood over a prone and disarmed Torchwick, blade pointed firmly at his throat.

“How do we stop this train?” Blake snarled at the criminal.

“Ha, you can’t kitty cat, no brakes. Removed ‘em myself.” Torchwick chuckled darkly. “I reckon we’ve got another, ooh 3 minutes before we reach our final destination. Better get on that.” He looked down the car and noticed Weiss and Yang. “Oh hello there ice queen, blondie. Come to enjoy the show?” Blake turned to look back at the other two in surprise.

Taking advantage of Blake’s momentary distraction, Torchwick tried to wriggle out from under her foot, only to be met with a swift kick to the side of the head, knocking him out cold.

“What are you two doing here?” She asked, running over to the other two.

“Looking for you. We’ve down here way too long, we need to regroup with Ruby.” Weiss told her, looking nervously around.

“But what about stopping the bombs?” Blake gestured towards the front of the train.

“There’s no time for that! And you heard Torchwick, there’s no stopping the train.” Weiss cast around, looking for a way back onto the roof.

“He could be lying.” Blake’s tone took on a doubtful tone that was oddly familiar, but Weiss had no time for sidetracks analysing her teammate. There, over in the corner was a ladder up to a hatch in the roof.

“Come on, we need to find Ruby.” She ran over to the ladder and began climbing, looking back at the other two to gesture them to follow. Blake’s mouth opened and a weak sound came out, before she shut it and followed Weiss, Yang bringing up the rear. As she crawled out, there was a shout from ahead.

“Weiss?!”

“Ruby!” The girl in question was stood alone on the next car along. Helping Blake up, the three hopped over to join Ruby who was looking ahead, right at a massive concrete barrier. End of the line.

“Er, does someone have a plan?!” Blake looked between the other three in worry. Ruby just glanced at Weiss and nodded, they’d discussed something like this as a last ditch effort for protection. She just hoped she had enough aura and Dust to do it. Stepping forward, she span the chambers on Myrtenaster and emptied most of the Ice Dust chamber into her hand. As the barrier approached the speeding train, Weiss slammed her hand down onto the roof of the train, channelling her aura through it and the Ice Dust forming massive spikes of ice to encapsulate the group. She hoped it would work. She did not want to die like this, she refused to.

There was an almighty crash, an explosion and everything went white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter, yay! I feel like I've been sitting on this for ages, which I have. I usually have these written maybe a week in advance of posting and am constantly resisting the urge to blow through the accumulated chapters and just post them all. Anyway, one more chapter to go before we're back into the murky void that is the time between volumes and more original content.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated


	28. Chapter 28

Weiss’ everything hurt. Moaning in pain, she pulled herself to her feet, staggering a little as she did so and having to lean up against a piece of concrete. She could hear something blaring in the distance but the ringing in her ears from the crash was too loud to make anything out clearly. Wait, where was Ruby? Weiss looked around wildly, they were in central Vale, they’d failed to stop the train. Random civilians were gathered around staring at them and the results of the crash.

Still scanning for Ruby, she noticed Blake and Yang helping each other up and there! A little further away was Ruby, sitting up and looking slightly dazed. Scrambling over chunks of debris and broken train, Weiss ran to her partner.

“Ruby! Are you okay?” She couldn’t see any wounds, they all must’ve taken a massive pummelling to their aura, but Weiss could feel it slowly returning. Fortunately, Ruby’s aura also seemed to be intact and regenerating and there were no obvious signs of concussion.

“Don’t mind about me, what about you?” Weiss could just make out the worried concern through the ringing in her ears and she nodded in reply. Before she could formulate a more complete answer, Weiss lost her balance as the ground shook and a rumbling noise came from the hole. No, it couldn’t be… Weiss’ worst fears were confirmed as a King Taijitu exploded out of the ground, flanked by a multitude of smaller Grimm.

There was screaming as the Grimm rushed into the square, sending civilians scattering. She turned back to her leader

“What do we do?!” For the first time since Weiss had known her, Ruby looked scared and that terrified Weiss more than anything that had happened yet today. Then the younger girl shook herself, her bright silver eyes taking on a steely glint.

“Our job. Come on, we need to form up.” Using her scythe, Ruby hauled herself up and started running to the centre of the square, calling out to Blake and Yang as Weiss followed a step behind. Despite every instinct screaming at her that this was a suicidal idea. That they were all tired, running low on ammunition and way out of their league. That they should retreat and wait for back up instead of this foolhardy exploit.

Still she followed the billowing cloak of her leader and as she did so, she realised something. She would follow this girl to hell and back, she didn’t know when, how or why she had become so devoted to Ruby but that didn’t matter. Wherever she led, Weiss would follow.

“How’re we doing?” Ruby called to the other pair as they met in the square and formed up into a loose circle, keeping a wary eye on the Grimm that moved to surround them.

“Not great, I’m almost out of bullets.” Blake replied, checking her magazine and sliding back into the gun.

“I’ve still got plenty of shells left.” Was Yang’s response as she carefully cocked her gauntlets, trying to avoid provoking the Grimm before they were ready.

“Weiss?”

“That ice barrier used up almost all of my Ice Dust, but I’ve got enough of the other types to make up.” She thumbed through the chambers, checking the levels and finding them just about acceptable.

“Alright, we need to hold them off as long as possible, the sirens are sounding so there should be back-up soon.” Ruby informed them, racking the slide on Crescent Rose and preparing.

“What happened to Oobleck? And Zwei?” Yang asked.

“I don’t know, they stayed back to hold off the White Fang.” Ruby’s voice shook slightly but held strong. “We can do this.” They all held their weapons at the ready, waiting for the stand-off to break.

They didn’t have to wait long as the King Taijitu that had led the way, let out a bellowing roar which seemed to signal the other Grimm to begin their attack. She needed to conserve Dust, so the first few Beowolves that threw themselves at her she cut down with her blade. But more kept coming still pouring out of the hole and she was forced to use the last of her Ice Dust to sweep away a horde of Beowolves bearing down on her.

Granted a momentary respite, Weiss glanced around to see Yang come crashing to the ground and a flock of Nevermores diving down at her. This was worse than she’d expected, she thought whilst driving Myrtenaster through another Beowolf’s centre. If there was enough panic to draw in other Grimm, this could end very badly. She looked back towards the hole, they needed to block it up. They couldn’t keep fighting like this as the stream of Grimm kept spilling forth from the ground.

Weiss cursed her lack of planning in not bringing enough spare Ice Dust, if she had, maybe she could’ve formed a temporary barrier. She was forced to duck out of the way as an Ursa took advantage of her distraction to try and take a chunk out of her. Flicking the chambers round, Weiss made short work of the beast, blasting it with a burst of flame and finishing it off with a swift beheading.

Checking no Grimm were about to attack her Weiss glanced around the square to see if any of her team needed help and her blood turned cold. Ruby was stood directly in front of the King Taijitu and hadn’t seemed to have noticed it.

“Ruby! On your left!” She called out to her partner, already in motion to join the fray when a loud, familiar explosion in the distance gave her pause. Several more explosions sounded, getting closer and Nora came sailing out of the sky to bludgeon the King Taijitu with a screaming war cry. The giant snake’s head was slammed into the ground cracking it and sending shards of concrete scattering about as Nora flipped back to land with the rest of Team JNPR.

Weiss could’ve cried with relief, she really wanted to take back every mean thing she’d said about Jaune as she watched him and his team move into action. Fresh and rested, they began making swift work of slicing through the Grimm compared to the exhausted Team RWBY. Admittedly that was mostly down to not-Jaune but Weiss didn’t have time to watch them fight as several more Beowolves emerged and charged her forcing her to spend several minutes slicing through them, still conserving as much Dust as possible. Idly, she wondered how this could be so much easier than that fight with the White Fang goon from before. Admittedly Grimm were far less tactical and didn’t require Weiss to use any of her more acrobatic manoeuvres, but they were still no less dangerous.

“Nobody move! Junior detectives!”

Wait, what.

Weiss whirled around to see Sun and Neptune stood there, badges held out as though they were somehow the greatest weapon against the Grimm invasion.

“We have badges, so it’s official!” Neptune joined his partner and Weiss just face-palmed, how could she have ever thought that boy was attractive? Whatever the two were about to say next was interrupted by the roar of airships flying overhead, deploying what looked like a platoon of Atlesian Knights who proceeded to start mowing their way through the smaller Grimm.

Weiss jogged back through the square towards Ruby and the others, having moved far away from them during the fight. Just as she reached the other three, who were now trying to stem the tide from the hole, a smaller dropship flew into view and dropped Team CFVY into the centre of the square. Weiss wondered why so many students were being sent to fight the invasion and not actual hunters as the team of second years proceeded to demolish the surrounding Grimm, finished off with Coco causing far too much collateral damage with her minigun.

But still the Grimm kept coming and Weiss could feel her sword arm starting to waver and could see the rest of her team flagging as well. They needed this fight to be over soon or they’d all collapse. It was fortunate then, that their salvation appeared in the form of a very annoyed Professor Goodwitch. The irked Professor proceeded to swat aside several Grimm stupid enough to attack her and used her Semblance to levitate the destroyed street back into place, sealing the hole as the last few Grimm were mercilessly slaughtered by the Atlesian Knights.

It was over. Weiss’ first instinct was to collapse onto the floor and rest but first she had to make sure Ruby was alright. She was about to make her way over to her partner, who was leaning heavily on her scythe, when a faint groan from a nearby piece of train debris that Goodwitch hadn’t moved caught her attention. Worried it might be a civilian she ran over to check on them, only to find a very dusty Roman Torchwick.

“Uh, girls? Somebody? There’s a criminal lowlife who needs arresting here.” She waved over the two students from Haven Ruby had befriended, who picked up Torchwick who seemed all too happy to shake him from his daze.

“Woah woah hey! Take it easy…” His eyes finally refocused on the scowling Weiss, now flanked by the rest of her team who’d come over to see what the commotion was. “Ah shit.” He so eloquently finished and was hauled away by the two towards an Atlesian airship that had landed and was flanked by several Knights.

It seemed that everyone was gathering around this airship so Team RWBY followed and were met with several hugs and greetings from the others who’d gotten there first, including:

“Zwei!” Ruby called out in delight as the corgi launched himself into her arms and began licking her face. Exhausted as she was, Weiss couldn’t help but crack a smile at the adorable display as Ruby presented the dog to Yang next. Even Blake allowed him to lick her face once before the corgi was passed onto Weiss.

“Who’s a good boy, who’s a good boy?” She cooed at the pup.

“Ugh, must I watch this sickening display? As if getting arrested wasn’t bad enough. Hey, watch the hat!”  Torchwick grumbled as he was led up the ramp into the airship.

“Thank the gods that’s over.” Yang moaned. “I could sleep for a week after that.”

“I’m afraid not girls, we must deliver our report to Professor Ozpin and receive our debriefing.” The four of them plus Zwei turned and gave Doctor Oobleck a withering look.

“Wow, thanks Doc.” Yang grumbled as the team said their goodbyes to the others who were sticking around to help with the clean-up and followed Oobleck to the dropship CFVY had arrived in.

* * *

 

“Well, we did it.”

The debriefing had taken several hours of excruciating detail and recounting the events before they were finally released. Now the team and Zwei were sat on the grass by the airdock, looking out over the cliffs towards Vale and at the setting sun.

“Yeah, I guess…” Blake said quietly, frowning down at the city.

“Hey, what’s up?” Yang asked tentatively, the dark-haired Faunus had been oddly subdued throughout the debriefing and only gave the briefest of answers.

“A lot of Faunus died in those tunnels, I probably knew some of them and we just left them to be slaughtered.” She mumbled, pulling her legs up to her chest. Ruby also looked rather disquieted by this. “I could’ve been one of them if I hadn’t left.”

Weiss had been trying not to think about the White Fang members she’d so casually knocked off the train during the confrontation. Although a small part of her hoped one member in particular hadn’t made it, horrible as it may be to wish such a thing upon someone.

Carefully, so as not to startle her, Yang moved over to Blake and pulled her into a side hug. “Hey, don’t beat yourself up about it.” She tried to reassure the dark-haired girl, but she was having none of it.

“But what if we’d been able to do something about it? Stopped the bombs, stopped the train.” Weiss could see Blake was starting to spiral so she decided to take matters into her own hands.

“Blake, listen to me. We did our best and that’s all they could expect from us.” The other Faunus still looked unhappy with how events had gone down, so Weiss continued. “Don’t dwell on the past and the what-ifs, beating ourselves up over something we wish we’d done.” She took Blake’s hands in her own. “We did a lot of good today. Sure it wasn’t perfect and we don’t have all the answers. But we stopped a White Fang plot and put Torchwick behind bars and honestly, I’d call that a win.” Hesitantly, Blake nodded in agreement and leaned into her partner.

“Couldn’t have put it better myself princess.” Yang murmured softly from Blake’s side where she was idly stroking the girl’s hair. “So what do we do now?”

“I don’t want to think about doing anything other than sleeping right now.” Ruby groused from Weiss’ other side, flopping back onto the grass.

“I’m with Ruby on this one.” Blake agreed, still a little quiet.

“All in favour say aye.” Ruby mumbled sleepily from the ground. The chorus of half-hearted ayes was met with gentle snoring and a closer inspection revealed Ruby had passed out where she lay. With a bare minimum of grumbling, Weiss gently hoisted the team leader into a princess carry and led the way back to the dorms, Blake, Yang and Zwei trailing after.

Once they reached their dorm, two problems occurred to Weiss: one, she was nowhere near strong enough to lift Ruby into her own bed. And two, it would be stupendously awkward for her to undress Ruby to get her into her pyjamas.

“Uh, Yang. Could you get Ruby changed please? I don’t want to wake her up.” Weiss implored the blonde who nodded and took the sleeping girl into the bathroom with their night clothes. Satisfied, Weiss drew the curtains and changed into her nightdress, finally letting her wings free properly after at least 24 hours of confinement. She stretched them out fully, letting all the muscles flex and relax when a sharp burst of pain in her left wing made her cry out.

“Ah!” The soft noise drew Blake’s attention, the cat Faunus spinning round in alarm, bow in hand.

“What’s wrong?” She asked worriedly as she watched Weiss contort in pain.

“Wing cramp!” She squeaked out, trying to flex the muscles to loosen up the errant limb. To her mild annoyance, Blake started giggling softly.

“Sorry, sorry. It’s just, I never would’ve imagined a Schnee complaining to me about their wing cramp.” She broke down into another fit of giggles.

“Oh and how’d you feel if I laughed at you if you got ear cramp or something?” The heiress huffed, with only a hint of ill temper.

“That’s not a thing Weiss.” Blake shook her head moving around behind Weiss. “Let me, I’ve got some experience with people with extra limbs.” She started rubbing at the afflicted wing, soothing the tensed-up muscles and making Weiss practically melt into Blake’s hands.

“Oh gods, that feels good. I should get Ruby to do this for me, she great with her hands.” She groaned in delight, before freezing and blushing deeply, realising what she’d just said. For her part, Blake only chuckled lightly.

“I’m sure she is, I saw her preening you on the Solstice. Although I feel kind of guilty for not telling you something back then.”

“Telling me what?” Weiss squeaked out, still mortified.

“That doing things like this, attending to our traits. It’s something only really done between family or _partners._ ” She left the implication of her last word hanging in the air, causing Weiss to squeak again.

“Uh Blake, do you have something you want to tell me.” The white-haired girl was tempted to pull away, but Blake’s hands felt too good loosening up her wing.

“Pfft, not like that. Sorry, but you’re not quite my type Weiss. But is it really that bad for me to consider you family?” Her hands slowed in expectation of the answer.

“No, no it isn’t. I’d be honoured in fact.” Weiss thought back over the events of the last day or so, even the last few months. “This is the only place I’ve ever felt I truly belonged, how could I not count you and Yang as my family?”

“And what about Ruby?” Blake’s voice was laced with mischief as she pointed out Weiss’, in hindsight, blatantly obvious omission.

“I… I don’t know about Ruby. I don’t really know what I want with her.” The voice in the back of Weiss’ head whispered that she knew exactly what she wanted with Ruby and how disgusting it was, but she beat it back. “I know she’s more than just a friend to me, but calling her family doesn’t sit right.” Weiss closed her eyes and thought back to the previous night. “When she was captured by the White Fang I was so scared. She was alone and unarmed and the thought of her gone…” She couldn’t continue to vocalise her fears and instead finished with. “I can’t imagine a future without Ruby.”

Blake’s reply was interrupted by the bathroom door opening and Yang emerging in her tank top and shorts, carrying Ruby in her oversized t-shirt and rose pyjamas.

“She’s all yours princess.” Before Weiss could protest, Yang deposited the sleeping brunette into Weiss’ arms, crawled up into her bed and promptly began snoring.

“Wait Yang, I need your help getting her into bed.” Weiss whisper shouted in indignation. “Blake can you…?” But when Weiss turned around, Blake had vanished and was curled up like a cat in her own bunk. Even Zwei had gone and curled up in a corner of the room.

As she stood in the middle of the dorm room, Weiss realised she had three options. One: she tries to hoist Ruby up into her bunk and possibly injure the both of them. Two: she lets Ruby take her bunk whilst she took Ruby’s, a scenario Weiss was not so keen on without Ruby’s express permission. And three: They share Weiss’ bunk.

After a moment, Weiss made her decision. Carefully, she lowered Ruby down onto her bunk, tucking her under the covers. Then she snapped of the lights and walked back to the bunks where she slid into bed. Her bed, beside Ruby. This was fine, they’d shared a bed before, back when Weiss’ intentions were mostly platonic. Trying not to disturb the sleeping girl, Weiss shuffled and tried to get comfortable, moving her wings into various positions. Her efforts halted though, when with a grunt of sleepy displeasure, Ruby rolled over and latched onto Weiss, burying her face into her neck.

Weiss’ internal monologue could be summed up in the panicked repetition of the phrase of ‘Oh gods’ interspersed with some of Yang’s more choice curses. After about a minute of silent swearing, very carefully, Weiss reciprocated Ruby’s clinginess and wrapped her own arms around the younger girls and let her wing rest over the top of them. She closed her eyes and let the gentle hum of her partner’s breath against her neck eventually lull her to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay Friday! And now we dive into tournament preparations and a few revelations, so fun times all around. Especially when I try in vain to justify CRDL's presence in the tournament. Or maybe they'll get cut, they'll probably get cut.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	29. Chapter 29

There had been a modicum of awkwardness the next morning as Yang and Blake awoke to find Weiss and Ruby cuddled up to each other. Something Yang couldn’t resist taking photos of as it had been, in her words, ‘The cutest freaking thing ever’. The clicking of the fake shutter on Yang’s scroll drawing the two still sleeping girls from their slumber. Ruby’s reaction to waking up embracing her partner was… not ideal, given that she squeaked in terror and practically threw herself out of the bed and onto the floor.

“Ruby? Is there something wrong?” Weiss asked and though she tried to keep her voice level, she couldn’t keep the hurt out.

“What, no, no, no. I was just startled, I didn’t remember going to bed last night.” Ruby’s arms flailed as she tried to reassure the heiress. Yang and Blake meanwhile were giving Ruby an appraising look, Yang’s in particular seemed almost reproachful.

“I see…” Scepticism laced Weiss’ voice as she fixed Ruby with a searching look which the brunette squirmed under.

“Bathroom, I need the bathroom. Be right back.” Before anyone could respond, Ruby blurred out of existence leaving behind her usual trail of rose petals and slammed the bathroom door behind her.

Weiss looked up at the black and yellow pair. “What is she hiding from me? Why doesn’t she trust me?” She murmured miserably.

Yang hesitated before speaking. “It’s up to Ruby to say when she’s ready.”

“I know…” Weiss looked away guiltily. “Doesn’t make it feel any better though.” Yang moved over and sat down beside Weiss.

“I know, maybe you should talk to Ruby about it. Just don’t go in expecting her to spill all her deepest darkest secrets. Don’t forget, this is about Ruby doing what she feels safe with and not making you feel better.” She reminded Weiss, giving her a one-armed squeeze. “Now, why don’t we get dressed and go get some breakfast?” The heiress nodded in agreement and stood to collect her clothes whilst Yang moved over to the bathroom door and informed Ruby of their plans.

Getting dressed could be quite the pain for Team RWBY as they had to wait for the bathroom to be free to change. Weiss wouldn’t have minded them all just changing in the room, at least before she’d realised she was gay? Bi? She hadn’t given any labels much thought. However she identified, the idea of getting undressed alongside several other not unattractive women whom she’d had more than a few inappropriate thoughts about, was rather daunting.

After ten minutes of shuffling the occupancy of the bathroom, the four were finally dressed and proceeded down to the cafeteria, leaving behind a still sleeping Zwei. As they went, it did not go unnoticed that Ruby stuck by Yang, rather than her usual spot beside Weiss.

The dining hall was unusually empty, a fact Yang commented on before being reminded that all the other first years were still on their away missions. The four had been fortunate that Professor Ozpin had let them off classes for the remainder of the time allocated for their away mission to recuperate.

The quartet collected their favoured breakfasts and settled down at a table in the corner and set upon their food. They’d barely eaten yesterday, only managing a few mouthfuls of whatever they could grab in-between debriefings.

“So girls, what’s the plan? We’ve got three days with no classes and the weekend.” Ruby asked around a mouthful of Pumpkin Pete’s, which Weiss rolled her eyes at and handed her a napkin.

“I don’t really have anything planned, I was just going to read.” Blake contributed, nibbling at her toast.

“In that case do you think you could give me a hand with something?” Yang asked, setting down her bacon to talk properly. “I need to go into Vale to do some shopping, I need some stuff from the Mistralian quarter.”

“What are you getting?” Weiss asked warily, she’d seen some of the things Yang had procured during her trips into Vale. She was still trying to bleach the image of that inflatable doll Yang had acquired for a prank from her mind.

“Nothing bad, just some stuff for this weekend, Ren and I have something planned.” Yang reassured, taking a bite of bacon as she did so. Well, if Ren is involved it couldn’t be all that bad.

“This plan has my approval.” Weiss noted agreeably before taking a dainty bite out of her usual smoked salmon bagel.

“I’m _so_ glad you approve princess.” Yang rolled her eyes in good-natured irritation. “So how about it Blake?”

The dark-haired girl gave it some thought as she chewed on her breakfast. “Yes, I think I shall.”

Weiss thought Yang’s face was going to break with how widely she was smiling. “Sweet! It’s gonna be awesome, we can get some lunch, do some window shopping too.” This was now sounding suspiciously date-like to Weiss. As she was about to voice this, Ruby interrupted.

“What about you Weiss? Do you have any plans?”

“As a matter of fact I do, I have something I want to talk to Coco about. A new commission that I think will give us an edge in the Tournament.” She smirked, thinking over her plans. If Coco agreed, this would definitely score them a place in the finals.

“Oh yeah, the Tournament’s a thing isn’t it.” Ruby mused. “I guess we should probably train for that at some point, and work out what we’re going to do. Maybe I’ll just train for the next few days, really prepare.” Ruby’s tone was light, but Weiss could hear something forced about it as she began rambling about techniques and plans.

“Yes, well both Yang and I have done some research on the matter so we’ll have an official meeting sometime.” The blonde nodded in agreement and the four settled back to eating their breakfast.

“Miss Schnee?” They were interrupted by a crisp voice and the four looked up at Professor Goodwitch who was looming over the table.

“Y-yes Professor.” Weiss tried to keep the nervous tremor out of her voice, but wasn’t entirely able to and Blake nudged her gently in reassurance.

“There’s nothing to worry about Miss Schnee, you’re not in trouble. You have a visitor and I’m merely here to escort you to the pavilion to meet them.” She stepped back and gestured for Weiss to follow her. She looked back at the other three, who with varying levels of enthusiasm waved at her to follow the Professor.

“Go on, we’ll see you later.” Ruby encouraged her. Taking heart from her partner’s words, Weiss swallowed down the last of her bagel and stood up to follow Professor Goodwitch, who had already started walking away.

* * *

 

Weiss had only visited the pavilion once before today, during a tour early on in the year to get acquainted with the grounds. Out in a lesser used area of the courtyards Weiss got the impression it was more for entertaining guests and other important visitors to the academy rather than for use by the students.

“Um, Professor. Who’s come to see me?” She asked Goodwitch as she led the way to the pavilion grounds.

“You’ll find out soon enough Miss Schnee.” Was her only response, not looking back at Weiss, so she remained silent for the rest of the walk.

When they reached the door leading out into the courtyard the pavilion stood in, the Professor merely opened it and stood aside. “I shall leave you to your conversation Miss Schnee.” And with that, she turned on her heel and began to march away.

Taking a deep breath, Weiss stepped through the open door and out into the sunshine, closing it quietly behind her.

“Hello?” She called out into the space, the large building in the centre of the area obstructing much of her view.

“Weiss, is that you?” She recognised that voice, but it couldn’t be. Weiss jogged over to the open archway and was met with the sight of her elder sister sat primly in a chair by a table, sipping at a drink whilst looking out over the scenic garden. Weiss froze for a moment, taking it all in. It really was Winter, unmistakable due to the greatcoat that was completely impractical for a Valean spring yet she was never be seen without.

“Oh it’s so good to see you Winter! What are you doing here?” She asked as she strode over to meet her sister. Said sister gave Weiss an odd stare as she took in the younger sister’s attire.

“I came to see you of course.” Her eyes lingered on the jacket, something glinting in her eyes.

“Really? But you never came before and you rarely visited the Manor.” Weiss made a minute gesture towards the chair opposite her sister which was acknowledged with a head tilt, granting permission to sit.

“Yes, well truth be told, I came because I was concerned about you. Yesterday, I learned from General Ironwood that there had been a Grimm incursion into the heart of Vale and that you were heavily involved in the situation. Not to mention when I probed deeper, I learned you’d been in an incident with a stolen prototype Atlesian Paladin. So I convinced the General to allow me to escort the next shipment of equipment to Vale so I may see you in person.” Winter gave her sister a look of concern. “Weiss, I’m worried about you and this reckless behaviour.”

“And as you can see I am perfectly fine. The Grimm incursion was repelled and everything will return to normal.” The heiress hated the tone of her voice, so formal. How stilted and unlike her it sounded.

“Be that as it may, this is highly uncharacteristic of you. Has being a Beacon had that much of an impact on you?” Weiss pondered the question momentarily. How should she answer? And to what degree? A voice hissed in the back of her head, insisting she tell her sister everything, wings and all. It was a tempting prospect.

“I suppose it has, meeting new people, my team especially. I’m not the spoilt princess who left Atlas.” Weiss remembered the first few weeks of the first semester and almost shuddered at the memory of how awful she’d been.

“Even so, this is just so different and I doubt this is all just the influence of you teammates.” Winter eyed Weiss sceptically, probing for something. “You said you were having difficulty adapting when we spoke only a couple of weeks ago but now you seem oddly at ease.” Had it really only been a few weeks since she’d spoken to Winter? Things had just moved so quickly.

“Then perhaps I was always inclined to this and being around my friends just brought it to the forefront.” Weiss shrugged. “I’m still not sure why you thought this warranted a personal visit though.”

Winter heaved a deep sigh and took another drink from her cup. “Weiss, you’re hiding something from me. For all these platitudes about how being around new people has changed you, I think something fundamental has changed about you and I want you to know you can confide in me.” She gave Weiss an imploring look.

“Winter, I…” The voice hissed in the back of her mind, ‘Tell her, tell her’ over and over. She paused momentarily, thinking back to earlier and Ruby’s lack of trust in her. Winter was possibly the most important person in her life and she deserved to know. “You’re right, I have been hiding something from you. For years now actually. I was afraid you’d hate me for it, I still am at least a little.”

“Weiss, you’re my sister, I could never hate you.” She reached out to place a reassuring hand upon Weiss’ but she pulled it away, tears now beginning to sparkle in her eyes.

“But we’re not sisters, not really.” She stood up and ignoring Winter’s questions, shed her jacket, allowing her wings to unfurl. “Are you still sure you couldn’t hate me?”

There was a brief moment of silence, then Winter stood and walked over to Weiss, pulling her into a hug. “Oh Weiss, I could never hate you for this. And I’m sorry.”

Weiss pulled back to look up at her sister. “What could you have to be sorry about?” Winter just gave her a wan smile and pulled back slightly. Slowly, she unbuttoned her own coat and let it drop off her shoulders, turning slightly to allow Weiss to see her back.

There, emerging from slits in her blouse, were a pair of wings. A perfect mirror for Weiss’ own.

“You-you.” All she could do was stammer, cautiously she reached out to touch them, letting her fingers brush over the feathers. They were real, dear gods they were real. Her sister was a Faunus. She withdrew her hand as though she’d been shocked, clamping it around her bicep as she felt her breathing accelerate. Her sister was a Faunus, her sister was a Faunus. The words beat a tattoo into her brain as she stepped back and collapsed back into her chair.

“You’re a Faunus, like me.” She eventually whispered as Winter moved to kneel beside her.

“Yes and I’m so sorry I hid this from you.” Once again she reached out and took Weiss’ hand.

“But why? Why would you hide this from me?” Weiss whispered.

“Because Kass told me to, he told me I couldn’t let anyone know.”

“Kass, he was the butler wasn’t he, is he…?” Winter nodded.

“Yes, he was my- our father.” She confirmed, continuing to rub at Weiss’ hand comfortingly. For her part Weiss was still processing this revelation. How could her sister have hidden this from her for so long? “He looked after me until father had him dismissed.”

“And you’ve just been hiding your wings for all this time?” An unpleasant thought wormed its way into Weiss’ head.

“I clip them and keep them bound, but yes. Kass taught me.” Weiss felt a pit form in her stomach, Winter had been able to hide herself for years. She tried to keep her voice calm, but she could hear the shrieking rage building.

“You mean to tell me, for 7 years, I’ve been mutilating myself to stay hidden when all I needed to do was clip a few feathers?!” Winter moved back in shock as Weiss stood up abruptly and started pacing around in agitation.

“Weiss, what on Remnant do you mean?” Horror filled her voice as she rose to follow her sister’s movement.

“I mean ever since these things,” She flapped her wings for emphasis. “Started to grow back, I’ve been cutting them off! My back is a mess, covered in scars and burns because of what I’ve done!” She wasn’t even bothering to pretend she wasn’t angry, she was furious, incandescent with rage.

“Weiss, I had no idea…” Winter moved in to her sister but she was rebuffed.

“Of course you didn’t, because you were busy happily hiding your wings under those stupid greatcoats. Gods, it’s so obvious now.” She continued to rant, walking even faster now.

“Weiss, I had to hide what I am. If I didn’t, father-.”

“Why are you calling him that?! You actually knew our father! Not that man who calls himself a Schnee and sits atop a throne built on the backs of our people.” Weiss had stopped pacing and instead got as close as she could to scream in her sister’s face. “You had someone to guide you, to tell you that you weren’t a mistake or a monster. I had no one! I thought I was a freak because that’s what father said I was, because that’s all I knew!”

“Weiss-.” Winter tried to speak but couldn’t get a word in edgeways to Weiss’ tirade.

“You lied to me. The one person in the world I thought I could trust and you fucking lied to me!” Her mind whirled into a maelstrom, pulling her deeper into darker and darker thoughts. Ruby didn’t trust her, her own sister didn’t trust her. Nobody trusted her. She was alone, again. Like she always would be. All at once, the fight and rage left her and she slumped back, away from Winter and walked over to her discarded jacket.

“I guess I was right, we aren’t sisters.” Ignoring Winter’s pleas, Weiss pulled on her jacket and walked away, refusing to look back at her sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh... Surprise? Yeah this has been a thing I've been working towards for a long time. Also Weiss cannot seem to catch a break, things constantly piling up on her. Although I do talk as though I'm not the architect of her varying misfortunes. Thing will get better though, she's strong and she will make it.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	30. Chapter 30

Weiss avoided her team for the rest of the week, not wanting to be interrogated about her visitor. She was still reeling from the revelations that conversation had brought and honestly, she did not want to think about it. So she decided to kill two birds with one stone and instead threw herself into her work with Coco for her new commission. She was especially eager for a distraction after Winter’s first attempt to call her which Weiss just let go to voicemail and deleted immediately. Since then she’d left her phone on silent, ignoring the messages that were piling up.

Of course, it had been odd that the rest of her team hadn’t come looking for her. Okay, Blake not coming after her was fairly expected, of the other three she seemed to be the only one who understood the concept of needing space. Yang was preoccupied with preparing for whatever it was she had going on with Ren. No, the strange thing was that Ruby had been almost as absent as Weiss the last few days.

“Okay, I think we are done!” Coco announced, pulling the finished product out from her sewing machine. Weiss was jerked from her introspective stupor and eagerly walked over to the fashionista who was admiring her handiwork. A new jacket, one which Weiss hoped would give her that edge she needed.

“It looks wonderful Coco!” She gushed and the older girl preened at the praise.

“Everything I make is wonderful, you should know that by now.” She handed the garment over to Weiss and gave it an appraising look. “Yes, I think that’ll work very well, you can hardly see the Dust woven in.” She looked Weiss dead in the eyes and let her glasses slip down her nose slightly. “Although I still find it hard to believe the girl who used to have Dust safety pamphlets on her at all times would carry around unshielded Dust _loose in her pockets_.”

Weiss blushed furiously and fidgeted awkwardly, to think she’d gotten mad at Ruby for accidentally causing an explosion on their first day when for the past few weeks Weiss had been carrying Dust crystals loose. It was the sort of thing that got you on page six of the local newspaper in an article laughing at the fool who sat on a Fire Dust crystal and all that entailed.

“Yes, well. This is to remedy that problem.” Weiss muttered, still embarrassed by her casual disregard for her own safety.

“It was definitely an interesting project, I’ve never worked with Dust like this before.” Coco commented, examining the crystals woven into the sleeves.

“Really? But you’ve done such a good job on it.”

“That’s because I spent all of Wednesday afternoon researching after you came to me with this. But enough of that, try it on.” She shook the jacket at Weiss who froze.

“I… can’t right now.” She tried weakly. A perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised over the rim of Coco’s sunglasses. “Could I use your bathroom? I get shy.” She tried again and the other eyebrow joined the first.

“I’m not sure what exactly you have to be shy about.” Weiss could almost feel Coco’s eyes rake over her appreciatively. “I mean I guess you could be self-conscious about your wings but I don’t see why-.” Coco what interrupted by a screech of shock from Weiss.

“What, Wings? What are you talking about? I don’t have wings!” She flailed wildly whilst Coco just gave her a look from over the top of her sunglasses. Realising her denial was getting her nowhere, Weiss just slumped. “How did you know?” She asked in defeat.

“A few things, the large size of the jackets you got from me and the fact you wear them constantly is a bit of a giveaway if you know what you’re looking for. But the main thing was Velvet talking in her sleep, it’s really cute actually, her mumbling stuff whilst cuddled up to you in bed.”

“Velvet knows too?” Coco just gave her a withering look.

“Of course Velvet knows, she sees pretty much everything, it’s a part of her Semblance. I told you she can just eyeball someone and get their measurements, it’s sorta like that.”

Weiss just nodded mechanically, before slumping onto the Team CFVY sofa. “Please don’t tell anyone.” She pleaded, earning a scoff from the older girl.

“Please Weiss, don’t you have more faith in me and Velvs than that? It’s not ours to tell.” She mimed zipping up her lips. “So now that’s out of the way, maybe try on the jacket?” A small voice whispered in the back of Weiss’ mind how it had been proven just how misplaced her faith in Winter had been. How could she place her trust in someone who’d be so blasé about things?

Shaking away the voice, Weiss reluctantly stood and shucked her jacket, letting her wings relax and flutter a little. Coco just eyed them curiously, then her expression dropped.

“Hold on, you’ve been cutting holes in my clothes!” She frowned deeply as she strode over to inspect the back of Weiss’ top. “Ugh, now I’m annoyed neither you nor Velvet told me about this earlier. I could’ve incorporated these so easily.” She backed off, tossing the new Dust-infused jacket at Weiss, still grumbling under her breath. Ignoring Coco’s irritation, Weiss pulled on the jacket and as always, it was an excellent fit. Pulling on the sleeves, she felt the smooth surfaces of small cut Dust crystals. It had taken her a while to grind them to size without setting them off but now they looked perfect adorning the jacket.

“Okay, now remember that this thing can be quite volatile, given you’re now essentially a walking bomb. Keep it away from anything hotter than your average fire or giant lasers and you should be fine.” Coco strolled around the heiress, picking at the jacket occasionally. “Also don’t forget once you use the emergency dust woven in you can’t use it again and I’ll have to retailor the whole thing. Best to stick with the crystals in the sleeves.” Weiss just rolled her eyes in mild annoyance.

“I know Coco, I was there when we designed this.” Coco huffed in response.

“Just making sure, I’d be rather irresponsible if I didn’t, Miss ‘carries loose Dust in my pockets’.” She smirked at Weiss’ pout.

“I’m never living that down, am I?” The white-haired girl moaned to Coco’s chuckles and head shakes.

“Nope, right let’s get that off. You shouldn’t wear it around like normal clothing, just in case.” In accordance Weiss pulled off the jacket and was about to replace it with the one she’d been wearing earlier when the door clicked and Weiss froze in fear.

“Hey Coco, I got those chocolate covered coffee beans you like and-.” Velvet walked into the room bearing several paper bags and froze when she saw Weiss, wings proudly on display as the door swung shut behind her. “Weiss! Hi!” Velvet’s voice pitched up a couple of octaves as her eyes darted around nervously.

“Relax babe, I already told Weiss you know.” Coco drawled, having flopped onto the sofa and giving the Faunus pair an amused look.

“Coco!” Velvet huffed and actually stomped her foot in irritation. “We were supposed to wait for her to tell us and act surprised when she did.” Still making noises of displeasure, Velvet walked over to a side table and set down the bags before rounding on Coco. “You’re going to apologise to Weiss right now.”

“For what?” Coco pulled herself upright to look properly at the rabbit Faunus.

“Because knowing you, you were all _you_ about it and she was probably terrified because she’d been found out.” She stared down her partner, arms folded. “So apologise now, or you get no snuggles.”

“Alright, alright, anything but that.” Coco looked over at Weiss who had been stood awkwardly off to the side, wings still loose. “I’m sorry Weiss, it was callous for me to do that to you and I should have let you tell me in your own time.”

“It’s alright…” Weiss answered after a second. Coco looked back at Velvet gesturing over at Weiss. After another moment, the rabbit Faunus shrugged and moved over to the sofa where was pulled down into a kiss by her partner.

“Coco…” Velvet reprimanded when she pulled back, blushing furiously as she looked up at Weiss who was equally flushed.

“Sorry, you were looking so cute there.” The fashionista pouted up at Velvet.

“Weiss is here and watching.” She hissed back, still luminescent.

“Oh, right.” Coco released Velvet who straightened up to look at a similarly red-faced Weiss whose mouth was flapping wordlessly.

Weiss finally found her voice and stuttered out. “You two are _together_ -together?” Coco snorted at Weiss’ choice of words.

“You mean ‘are we girlfriends’? Eh sorta, it’s a casual thing mostly.” She waved her hand whilst unseen by her, a frown flashed across Velvet’s face. Weiss shook her head vigorously to clear it.

“Dear gods, first Yang, then me and now you two. Is everybody at Beacon gay? Is it going to turn out Ruby’s a lesbian too?” She shot Coco a puzzled look as the older girl bit her hand to stifle several giggles and received a sharp elbow from her partner.

“Yes well, it can seem like the friends of Sappho are plentiful at Beacon.” Coco couldn’t help herself and just burst into peals of laughter.

“Friends of Sappho! Oh that’s a good one! That’s a Yang-ism if ever I heard one.” She continued to laugh despite the withering glares from both Weiss and her sort-of-girlfriend.

“Well, ignoring my partner and her unusual sense of humour, Blake’s been looking for you.” Velvet stood and brushed herself off and sending a concerned look over at Weiss. “She said you aren’t answering your scroll. Is everything alright?” Confused, Weiss pulled out her scroll and examined it. Sure enough, aside from the 26 messages from Winter, there were a few voicemails and texts from Blake. She’d probably decided Weiss had isolated herself for long enough.

“I… had a visitor a few days ago and our meeting ended poorly. I just wanted some space to work through it without them pestering me about it.” Velvet nodded in understanding.

“I see, Fox can get like that sometimes, he likes his space to process. Just remember your team is there to support you.” She smiled warmly at Weiss who returned it hesitantly. Coco however rolled herself upright to look at Weiss properly.

“And have you been working through it?” Her sunglasses slightly askew so Weiss could see the shrewd look in her eyes. “Because you’ve been here with me for the past few days and that sounds more like ignoring the problem than dealing with it.” Weiss squirmed uncomfortably under the older girl’s gaze.

“Of course I’ve been working through it.” Weiss sniffed indignantly, lying through her teeth. “What do you take me for?”

“A liar who avoids problems and her feelings rather than face them.” Coco deadpanned, eyes still fixed on Weiss. “So, let’s try that again shall we?”

“I…” Her words petered out under the fashionista’s baleful glare. “No, you’re right.” She admitted, looking away and grasping her bicep. “If I ignore it, it stops being real and I can pretend everything’s fine.”

Velvet stood up properly and walked over to the heiress. “Weiss, you’re shaking.” She hadn’t even noticed that. “Why don’t you sit down?” Velvet gently led the now slightly trembling girl over to a chair facing the sofa and then made her way back over to her partner and sat down beside her whilst Coco just flopped over onto her sort-of-girlfriend’s lap. “Not the time Coco, come on.” She chided gently and Coco sat up, grumbling something about being a lesbian and not having to sit properly. Weiss meanwhile drew herself up as small as she could and peered at the older two over her knees.

“Alright then, what happened between you and whoever it was who came to see you that you want to ignore so badly?” Coco steepled her fingers and looked at Weiss expectantly. “If you don’t want to tell us, fine. We’ll call up Blake or one of your other teammates. But you can’t keep avoiding it, otherwise it’ll fester and that’s never good.”

Weiss considered her next words, she wanted to tell them, tell someone. But it felt wrong to just out her sister like that, no matter what she’d done. “I-I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you.”

“Hey, I told you, it’s fine. We’re friends and all, but if we’re not the people you need to talk to that’s alright.” Velvet nodded along. “That said, if you can’t tell us, then you should definitely talk to your team.”

“You should go, and _talk_ to them, don’t just brush it off. I’ll send Blake a message to let them know you’re coming.” Velvet pitched in as Weiss shakily got to her feet, pulled on her jacket and collected the new one.

“Thanks both of you, for listening I guess. And for this.” She shook the item of clothing and Coco just tried to wave it off.

“It was nothing, seriously, and I’m sorry we can’t be of more help.” She made a shooing gesture. “Now go, talk this out and maybe soon you’ll feel up to going out for another coffee expedition. There’s a new shop opened in downtown Vale I’ve been dying to try.” Weiss chuckled a little and waved goodbye as she headed out and started back towards her dorm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter, Yay! Sorry it's a bit on the short side, it used to be longer but it got split off into part of the next chapter which is really not easy to write. It'll still be out on Monday though so don't worry. And also don't worry about me forcing myself to stick to the schedule either. I work better with the deadlines and If I wasn't sticking to it, my perfectionist streak would take over and I'd never post anything until I'm completely satisfied, which will be never.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	31. Chapter 31

Weiss had been stood outside the door to the dorm for the past five minutes, trying to work up the courage to go in. Finally, she heaved a deep sigh, no more secrets. The other three were arrayed around the room and Ruby appeared to be in the middle of complaining to Yang.

“I only had two more sets to do.” She whined, flopped over the edge of her bunk to look at her sister sat at one of the desks.

“Ruby, you remember what the doctor told you.” She reminded the sulky teen.

“Follow the exercise regimen and not to overdo it otherwise I could injure myself and delay things.” The brunette recited, still pouting.

“Exactly, oh hey Weiss!” Yang noticed the new arrival as the door swung shut behind her. “We were just waiting for you, Blake said Velvet sent her a message about you wanting to talk to us.” Weiss nodded as she took off her jacket and hung it and her new one up on the coat stand. Then she went and sat down on her bed and the others converged, Blake sitting up from whatever book she was reading, Yang dropping down next to her and Ruby falling out of her bunk and landing in her usual spot beside Weiss. “What’s on your mind?”

Weiss took a deep calming breath that did little to steady her nerves and began. “My sister came to visit on Wednesday.” Before she could continue, she was interrupted by Ruby.

“That’s who came to see you, why didn’t you tell us? I would’ve loved to meet your big sister!”

“I didn’t tell you because it ended badly, there may have been some, okay, a lot of shouting on my part.” Weiss admitted whilst Blake gave her a curious look.

“What happened?”

“She’s a Faunus, my sister Winter is a Faunus and she never told me until now.” The words spilled out in a rush, again she felt a twinge of guilt for telling people Winter’s secret. But it wasn’t like she could explain what happened without telling them.

“Oh, okay. Did not expect that.” Yang responded and Blake just blinked owlishly from beside the blonde, ears flicking. Ruby however…

“But isn’t that a good thing? Your sister’s like you!” She asked, completely oblivious to Weiss’ inner turmoil.

“Ruby, Weiss literally just said that Winter only just told her.” Yang hissed at her sister.

“Yeah, and?” She cocked her head to the side.

“So she’s been lying to her for seventeen years.” Blake explained patiently, the shock seeming to have worn off and was now giving Weiss an appraising look.

“But she’s explained now, so everything’s fine.” The younger girl looked genuinely confused as she cycled between the other three. Weiss didn’t want to explain her history of wing cutting to Ruby, she wanted to keep her as far away from that as possible. Try to maintain Ruby’s innocence and her own image. But it seemed like she was going to have to tell her. She opened her mouth, about to shatter her partner’s perception of her, show her just how unlovable she really was, when she was interrupted by Yang.

“Ruby, Weiss had to face her father alone and listen to him spout all that awful nonsense about the Faunus. Now she finds out that she didn’t have to be alone and that her big sister could’ve helped her…”

“So they talk about it and then make up and be happy sisters again.” Ruby still looked perplexed, focusing on Yang for an explanation. However it was Weiss who spoke next.

“I don’t even know if I want to make up with her.” She admitted, hanging her head. “There’s a rational part of me that knows there are so many reasons why Winter would’ve lied to me this whole time. But every time I think about it, I feel like I’ve been betrayed all over again and it hurts.” What she didn’t tell them about were the flickers of anger she felt whenever she thought of her sister.

“But you’re sisters…” Ruby’s voice was small and plaintive as she tried to meet Weiss’ eyes. “You’re supposed to look after each other.”

That annoyed Weiss a little, the little flickers growing brighter. “Well not all of us can have a wonderful big sister like Yang, can we?” She snapped at the younger girl. “Sometimes we get disappointing ones, who even before they tell you they’ve lied to you for years, abandon you to the tender mercies of Jacques Schnee.” Weiss rose to her feet now, pacing the room in an eerie recreation of her meeting with Winter. “But you wouldn’t know that would you? You don’t know what it’s like to be betrayed like that, to place your trust in someone only to have that thrown back in your face. No, that’s what you do.”

“Weiss…” The lightness of Yang’s tone belied the underlying threat. Blake meanwhile, had huddled up back against the headboard of her bed and watched Weiss anxiously.

“What do you mean Weiss?” Ruby however got up and tried to catch Weiss, ignoring the tears beginning to sparkle in her own eyes.

“What I mean is that I’ve trusted you with everything, my life, my wings,” even my heart, she thought, though the words went unsaid and the gesture had not yet been made. “And you’re still hiding something from me!”

The brunette froze, then her face fell and she drew in on herself. Yang however, jumped to her feet and over to Ruby.

“You’re out of order Weiss.” She snarled, pulling Ruby away and into a hug which, to her surprise, the brunette wriggled out of and ran over to her partner.

“I didn’t mean to, I wanted to tell you for so long but it wasn’t the right time or I didn’t have the words or I was scared.” She took Weiss hands which she tried to snatch away, but Ruby held firm. “I do trust you Weiss, so much more than you know.” She took a deep breath and was about to continue but was interrupted by Yang.

“Ruby, you don’t have to tell her-.” She tried to dissuade her sister but Ruby ploughed on regardless.

“I’m trans, Weiss.” The words came tumbling out, rushed and almost unintelligible.

“What?”

“I’m transgender.” The words were no less rushed as she gave Weiss a slightly teary look.

“I-I, uh got it the first time.” The white-haired girl looked away, though she left her hands in Ruby’s grasp. Waves of guilt crashed over her. She was a terrible person. She’d just forced her partner to come out to her and for what? Her own pathetic need for validation, completely ignoring Ruby’s feelings. A painfully familiar sound started in her ears, one she hadn’t heard for a few weeks now. The thrumming rose in volume, drowning out Ruby’s next words. No, she was better than this. Slapping on as wide a smile as she could muster, Weiss turned back to face Ruby and forced down the buzzing.

“I’m so glad you told me.” She managed to force out, still keeping her smile up. She was met with a still slightly teary grin from Ruby, followed by a suffocating hug from the girl as she latched onto her midriff. Behind Ruby though, Yang regarded her with narrowed eyes whilst Blake stared unblinkingly.

“You’re okay with this?” Ruby’s voice was muffled against Weiss.

“Of course I am.” It was a blatant lie, told incredibly poorly, but Ruby hadn’t seemed to have noticed. Weiss was very much not okay with this. This had gone terribly, but still she kept the fake smile on as Ruby finally pulled back.

“I’m gonna go finish my work out now.” The brunette informed them, skipping over to the door and turning back to face her partner. “Thank you Weiss.” She was unable to reply before Ruby left the room and the too-wide smile slipped from her face. For a moment Weiss was tempted to follow her, to apologise, to do something. But a heavy hand came down upon her shoulder.

“Hold up, we need to talk.” Yang’s firm grip guided Weiss back over to her bunk where she was sat down with the blonde towering over her, Blake still off to the side looking slightly anxious. “Now spill it princess, what’s your problem with my sister?”

“Problem, there’s no problem.” Weiss could almost feel the sweat starting to coat her forehead as her eyes darted around nervously.

“Weiss, you are a terrible liar when it comes to certain things.” Yang stated, still looming over the smaller girl. “I’ve seen that look before, that way people smile whenever they want to be anywhere but here. I saw it on all the kids at Signal when Ruby started there.” She moved in closer, forcing Weiss to lean back, wings flapping a little in agitation. “So I’ll ask again, what is your problem with my _sister_?”

“I don’t have a problem with Ruby!” She squeaked fearfully, pulling her legs up off the floor to inch back from Yang.

“Sure you don’t, just like all those bullies at Signal who claimed it was just for attention, or that it was wrong for her to use the girl’s bathroom.” The blonde was practically snarling in Weiss’ face, still advancing menacingly. “I spent years making sure Ruby never found out what those bullies thought of her. So you can understand that I’m more than a _little_ concerned when I find out her partner is a transphobe.”

This was too much for Weiss, being backed into a corner, being accused of things that weren’t true and that infernal buzzing that was still going, jackhammering into her skull.

“I’m not transphobic!” She shouted, standing up and pushing Yang back. Blake, who had been nervously backing away from the pair the moment Yang started to raise her voice, jumped back and fell off her bed. Yang however was stunned and flailed around for a rebuttal.

“But the way you were acting…” he tried, her train of accusations broken.

“You want to what I have a problem with?! ME!” Weiss advanced on Yang, wings now flaring. “I just forced my partner to come out to me because I was pathetic and insecure about my sister not trusting me. So I took it out on the person I care about the most in the world and now I hate myself even more than I already did.” Weiss’ voice began to crack and shake, but the anger was still there. “I ruin everything, my family, my friends and myself.” Exhausted by the outburst, Weiss let her wings drop, followed by herself, falling to the floor, sniffing and swiping at her face refusing to look up at Yang.

She just sat there as she heard conversation above her, muted by the buzzing. Then a soft hand pressed into the small of her back. “Hey, can you hear me?” Blake’s voice drifted in through the white noise that filled Weiss’ head and after a moment of hesitation, she nodded. “Okay, that’s good.” There was a gentle yet insistent pull and Weiss followed the motion, unthinking, and was brought over to Blake’s bunk.

“Can you look up for me Weiss? Yang has something she wants to say.” When the white-haired girl didn’t move, coaxing fingers were placed under her chin and raised her head up to look at an incredibly guilty Yang who was shuffling awkwardly in place.

“Weiss, I’m sorry I just assumed the worst of you.” Her right hand alternated between rubbing the back of her head and gripping her left bicep, a mannerism they all seemed to have picked up from Blake. “I get kinda protective of Ruby when it comes to stuff like this and-.” Yang’s defensive mumbles were cut off by a tutting from Blake.

“Yang, I thought we agreed, no trying to justify yourself. Admirable as it is to want to protect your sister, what you did and said was mean. Not to mention I’m pretty sure Weiss is beating herself up enough over her mistake.” Blake’s voice still had a slightly anxious waver to it as she chided her partner. “And that’s all it was, a mistake. Maybe it wasn’t ideal, but Ruby’s come out now and that’s that.” Blake rose from beside Weiss and moved over to Yang. “Okay?” The blonde nodded after a moment’s hesitation. “Good, now I think we all need cheering up.” Her fleeting glance towards the heiress did not go unnoticed. “Yang, isn’t that thing you had planned with Ren today?”

At the mention of this, Yang perked up a little. “Oh yeah, kinda forgot about that.” She pulled out her scroll and swore quietly. “That’s the time!? I gotta go help Ren.” Yang grabbed a bag sat in the corner and ran to the door. “Blake, if you could get Ruby and both of you come to common room five at about six. I’ll see you then.” And with that Yang bolted from the room, slamming the door behind her, leaving the two Faunus slightly stunned by the sudden manic energy.

After a moment, Blake broke the silence. “You sure you’re okay Weiss?”

Weiss shook her head morosely. “I’m not okay Blake, I don’t think I will be for a while.” She stood up to look out the window. “It feels like my entire world has been turned upside down and my only response is to lash out at it. I don’t know whether I want to repair my relationship with my sister and I feel like I’ve tainted my relationship with Ruby.” She sighed deeply, gazing out over the grounds in the afternoon light.

“Just give it some time.” Blake reassured the heiress. “I don’t know what to do about how you feel about Ruby, but I do have something I do want to say about your sister, if you want to listen.” Blake paused and eventually Weiss nodded. “Don’t let this break your relationship with the one family member you like. I’m all for cutting toxic people out of your life and you’ll always have a family with us. But I haven’t spoken with my parents in five years, it’s been so long I don’t think reconciliation is possible. From what you’ve said about Winter, I do think her heart’s in the right place.”

“But she betrayed me, lied to me my entire life and left me when I needed her most.” Weiss objected, turning to face the cat Faunus. “How can we just go on as though nothing changed?”

“You can’t.” Blake shrugged. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t try to move on. Maybe the hurt will never go away and you find you can’t forgive her. You owe it to yourself to get closure on this and not let it consume you or pretend nothing happened.” Blake sighed. “I’m not going to be blindly optimistic like Ruby and say it will all be fine, but I will say that there’s not a been a day since I left them that I haven’t missed my parents.”

The room fell into a contemplative quiet for a few minutes as Weiss watched a flock of birds fly by. “Thank you for the advice Blake, I think I need some time to decide what I’m going to do.” She slowly made her way over to the coat stand and pulled on her jacket. “I’m going to study in the library for a while. I’ll see you later.” And with that, she left the room, thoughts swirling round her head, intermingling with guilt and the soft thrum in her ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I finished it in time, woo! Totally didn't spend the weekend with minor writer's block. So yeah, it's probably not really a surprise to people at this point that Ruby is trans, but I find explicit statement is important, rather than vague hints. My initial difficulties writing this was that Weiss was going to be completely clueless and I found that nigh on impossible to write, so the obvious solution, Weiss does know things. Not that much admittedly and we'll get to that in a bit, but for now things are stabilising, sort of. Knowing Weiss' luck something bad is just around the corner.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	32. Chapter 32

“Why is Nora bound and gagged?” Weiss wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer, but felt obliged to ask as she entered the common room. She’d spent the last hour trying to study in the library. Emphasis on trying, as all the events of that afternoon kept bothering her, preventing her from even being able to form a coherent sentence for Professor Port’s essay on Boarbatusk migratory patterns.

“Hey Weiss, Nora is tied up because she kept stealing our ingredients and I gagged her because she wouldn’t stop complaining or trying to give ‘advice’.” Yang answered from the stove where she appeared to be frying something.

“And you approve of this Ren?” The boy just shrugged and continued chopping vegetables. Ren and Yang were wearing brightly coloured aprons, pink and orange respectively, both emblazoned with the phrase ‘Please do nothing to the cook’. Weiss had seen Yang wear that apron only once before, when she got bored one morning and decided to make pancakes for the entire team, only for Nora to somehow find out and steal them all. She still hadn’t quite forgiven Nora for that particular incident alongside several others. What was more unusual about Yang’s attire was what she was wearing underneath the apron. It looked slightly similar to Ren’s clothes, the fastenings were the same, except it was a bright red dress with golden dragons embroidered across it.

“So what’s happening exactly?” Weiss took a seat beside the incredibly grumpy looking Nora on the sofa, not bothering to untie her like she would for pretty much anyone else. This would be penance for that time she sprinkled lightning dust on Myrtenaster’s handle making Weiss shock herself whenever she tried to use it.

“Well, it’s the New Year tomorrow so Ren and I got together and decided to make a reunion dinner for us all.” Weiss cocked her head in confusion.

“But it was the New Year a few weeks ago?”

“She means the Mistralian New Year. Mistral used to work on a different calendar system to Vale and Atlas and a lot of Mistralians still celebrate the original New Year.” Ren answered, still rapidly chopping a leafy green thing. Weiss nodded in understanding, she’d heard about the old Mistralian calendar once or twice before.

“And this ‘reunion dinner’?” Yang hesitated momentarily, before answering, her voice deliberately light.

“Well, traditionally the whole family gets together on the eve of the New Year for a big meal. But for varying reasons we weren’t able to do that this time, so we decided to have it with you guys.” Ren made a faint noise of agreement as he walked over to the stove and tipped the greens into the large pan Yang was using and took over frying, whilst Yang busied herself with another pot.

“I see… Is there anything I can do to help?” Weiss asked, feeling slightly guilty that the two of them were preparing what looked to be a large meal and she was sat there doing nothing.

“Sorry, princess but you haven’t cooked anything in your life, have you?” Weiss shook her head, flushing with embarrassment, remembering her one disastrous attempt at baking cookies to apologise to Ruby for ruining her cake that one time. They had made excellent throwing weapons for the last food fight though. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. You can help with the clean up later. Just keep an eye on Nora though will ya?” Weiss made a noise in the affirmative as Yang busied herself with collecting more ingredients out of the fridge.

Weiss sat there beside an increasingly annoyed Nora, judging by the muffled noises she was making, and contemplated what she should do to fix things later as the delicious smell of cooking wafted over her. Obviously the first thing she needed to do was apologise profusely to Ruby, but after that? She didn’t know. A small voice that sounded eerily like Blake whispered she should call Winter. Weiss promptly quashed this new voice and its absurd suggestions.

Weiss was pulled from her reverie by the sound of the door opening and Jaune and Pyrrha walking in, both looking freshly showered. Completely unperturbed by their trussed-up teammate, the pair settled down in the chairs facing the sofa after greeting Ren and Yang.

“Hi Weiss, how’re things?” Pyrrha asked, running her fingers through her damp hair.

“Fine, things are fine.” She covered, shoving down her feelings of discontent. “How about you?”

“Oh things are great, we’ve been practising for the tournament and Jaune’s really improving.” The blonde tried to wave off the praise while Pyrrha insisted he was better than he thought he was. Weiss actually liked this Jaune, humble and not trying to hit on her. Maybe they could even be friends, or something like that at least, provided he got it into his head that when she tells him she doesn’t want to go out with him, she really means it. Speaking of…

“So Weiss, there’s a parade tomorrow in Vale and maybe you’d like to come with me?” She was saved from having to come up with a new biting retort when the door opened and Blake entered the room dragging a rather sweaty Ruby behind her.

“Come on Blake, I was nearly finished.” She whined as she was deposited unceremoniously at the table. Her complaints were silenced by a sharp glare from Yang.

“Thanks for getting her for me Blake, Are those clothes fitting okay?” Weiss turned to look at Blake who’d settled in another chair and was shocked. Blake was a riot of colours, bright yellows and golds mostly, with other colours dotted throughout, even her bow was a bright red.

“They fit fine Yang, thanks for lending them to me.” Weiss shot Pyrrha a perplexed look, hoping the Mistralian could shed some light on it.

“It’s bad luck to wear black.” She told the heiress. “I’m really looking forward to this, my family moved to Mistral from Atlas when I was three so we celebrated the Solstice, but I loved to look at all the decorations.” The redhead reminisced and Nora nodded along enthusiastically.

“Well it’s ready, if you guys can set the table.” Yang called over and Blake and Jaune stood and began laying out cutlery and plates whilst Yang and Ren were setting out several large plates in the centre of the table. Weiss took it as her job to ungag and free Nora.

“Finally! You guys are mean!” She complained as Weiss worked on the knots.

“If you didn’t want us to tie you up Nora, you shouldn’t have tried to steal the fish.” Yang reprimanded as she untied her apron and set it aside, taking a seat beside Ruby. The others followed suit and Weiss found herself sat opposite Ruby and next to Ren. “Right, so we’ve got the steamed fish, there’s some stir fried veg over there, we didn’t have time to make our own dumplings so they’re store bought but they are cooked in Ren’s soup and there’s some mapo doufu, it’s not usually what you’d serve, but it’s my dad’s recipe and it tastes great.” Yang rattled off pointing at the various dishes. “Sorry we didn’t make more, but we only really sorted this out last week.”

“Are you kidding? This looks amazing!” Nora shouted, wanting to make up for not being able to talk earlier.

“I agree with Nora, this does look very good.” Blake said, eyeing up the fish that Weiss was also looking at. “How come you decided to do this then?” Yang and Ren exchanged looks before Ren spoke.

“The reunion dinner is supposed to be where families come together, but Nora and I don’t really have a family anymore, so I wanted to celebrate with you.” He indicated Jaune and Pyrrha. “And when I told Yang she said she wanted to help and invite the rest of you.” Yang nodded along.

“Yeah, I figured even if you don’t have anyone, or you haven’t seen ‘em in a while or they’re just kinda crappy. We’re our own kind of family right?” There was a soft chorus of agreement from around the table which Weiss only momentarily hesitated to join. Even though she’d already admitted it to Blake, it felt slightly odd acknowledging it in front of all her friends. But it felt right to do so, even if things with her actual family were rocky, she’d always have Team RWBY.

* * *

 

“Oh my gods. I was right, that was amazing!” Moaned Nora, slumping back in her seat. “Blake, Yang’s joining our team now to cook for us.”

Blake chuckled lightly at this proclamation. “I’m afraid you can’t have her, if nothing else I’ll be down a partner.”

Nora thought for a moment. “You can have Jaune, he’s blonde. It’s close enough.” She ignored Jaune and Pyrrha’s noises of disagreement whilst Yang and Ruby burst out laughing.

“Nora, what did we say about using Jaune as a bargaining chip?” Ren intoned from beside his hyperactive partner.

“That we should only do it when it’s super important?” She suggested impishly, causing more laughter from the sisters and a huff of amusement from Weiss.

“Yeah, no sorry Nora. Afraid I’m going to have to pass on that deal.” Yang wrapped an arm around Blake who flushed slightly. “I’d never leave this cutie for anything.” Blake’s cheeks were practically incandescent and Ruby rolled her eyes at her sister.

“Ohhhhhhh! Why didn’t you tell me you two are _together_ -together? I thought we were buddies.” Nora pouted in mock offence as the black and yellow pair practically threw themselves away from one another.

“What? No, don’t be silly. Blake’s straight.” Yang dismissed, blushing furiously, whilst Blake spoke at the same time.

“No, no, no. Yang’s not into girls.” Weiss just looked between the two in bewilderment, did they genuinely not know. Then there was a loud thunk as Ruby’s head smacked into the table.

“Ruby! Are you alright?” Weiss rose and was halfway around the table to attend to her partner when she was interrupted by twin sounds of incredulity from Yang and Blake.

“Of course I’m into girls, I’m bi!” Yang exclaimed, once again at the same time as Blake’s cry.

“What do you mean ‘I’m straight’? I’m gay, Yang.” The pair proceeded to gape at each other whilst Nora started giggling and said something along the lines of ‘Hi gay, I’m Nora’ as Ruby groaned quietly from the table.

“Three months, three freaking months.” The brunette raised her head from the table. “It took you both that long to work out the other one isn’t straight.” She flopped back over the back of her chair whilst the partners in question made noises of indignation.

“Hey, you make it sound like it’s easy or something.” Yang pouted, throwing Blake the occasional glance.

At this, Ruby’s head shot up. “Because it’s so obvious! You two are possibly the queerest people I’ve ever met! Blake, Yang flirts with you constantly!”

“That doesn’t mean anything… She flirts with everyone…” Blake murmured, still blushing.

“She also asked you to the dance with the words and I quote: ‘If you feel like coming out tomorrow, I’ll save you a dance.’” Okay, Weiss had to admit that was a pretty smooth line. Blake meanwhile, shuffled awkwardly.

“And Yang, how have you not noticed 90% of Blake’s books are yuri smut?” Ruby’s arms were flailing wildly whilst the other five not involved, watched the unfolding rant with all the visceral horror and delight one has for a bad car accident.

“That doesn’t mean she’s into women.” Yang insisted, though she sounded rather unsure and looked rather uncomfortable at the mention of smut. “Anyway, how do you know that?” Yang asked, trying to deflect the attention off herself and doing a bad job of it.

“It doesn’t matter,” Ruby blushed momentarily. “The point is, it’s taken you two way too freaking long to work this out all the while subjecting me to your unresolved sexual tension and pining when you should just kiss and get it over with!” Ruby finally collapsed back into her chair and Weiss hurried the rest of the way to tend to her partner. There was silence for a few minutes, until Nora finally spoke.

“Wow! Dinner _and_ a show! This has been the best New Year’s ever!” Everyone just gave Nora a withering glare.

* * *

 

“You okay Ruby? That was quite an outburst.” Weiss and Ruby were busy washing up, Jaune and Pyrrha were on drying duty whilst Ren was keeping Nora entertained and Yang and Blake had vanished somewhere. Nora’s supposition that they’d gone to suck face was met with a reprimand from Pyrrha not to be crude.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I feel kinda bad though for calling them out like that, especially in front of the others.” He jerked her head over at Jaune and Pyrrha who were having a discussion about sword and shield techniques.

“I’m sure they’ll forgive you if you apologise later.”

“Maybe they’ll be super forgiving if they do end up kissing?” Ruby asked hopefully, Weiss just chuckled a little, before it died out as the talk of apologies reminded her.

“Speaking of apologies…” She began but was cut off by Ruby.

“Don’t, you don’t need to.” She stated firmly.

“But you don’t even know what I was going to say.” Weiss protested.

“Blake told me what you told her and Yang after I left when she was dragging me here.” That snitch, even if she did have good intentions.

“But-.” Weiss tried but was cut off again.

“No buts, it wasn’t exactly how I wanted it to go but I did want to tell you for ages now.”

“Since the Solstice right? When I told you not to feel pressured to tell me.” Weiss felt a fresh trickle of guilt settle in her stomach realising how she’d gone back on that.

“Weiss…” Ruby’s tone carried an unspoken warning, ‘don’t beat yourself up over this’. Easier said than done. Her hands had stilled and she stopped scrubbing as she focused entirely on Ruby.

“But you said a week later that you weren’t ready.” Weiss could feel her thoughts spiralling into a morass of guilt and self-recriminations and actively welcomed it, her penance for being a terrible person. She’d left her hands under the scalding water and only just noticed they were starting to pink, but still she just left them there.

“Weiss. Stop it.” There was a firm tug on her arms, pulling her now red hands out from under the tap and turning it off. Then with an insistent tug, turned Weiss to face her partner who looked down in concern, rubbing at the shorter girl’s hands soothingly. “Please, stop blaming yourself, I’m glad I told you.” The younger girl’s reassurances relieved the guilty pressure on Weiss’ shoulders, but not by much. “And it’s nice to have no more secrets.” Weiss nodded, though there was a prickle of guilt at the back of her mind, reminding her of the one last thing she hadn’t told Ruby yet. But that would wait for another time, when Weiss was worthy, she’d tell her.

They finished the rest of the washing up in short order and bade Jaune and Pyrrha goodnight as they left ahead of them to make sure Nora hadn’t done anything.

“Ruby, would you mind going ahead? I’ll catch up in a bit” Weiss asked nervously and Ruby cocked her head.

“Um, okay.” And the brunette departed, leaving Weiss alone in the common room. She sank down on the sofa and fished through her inside pocket for her scroll, extracting it and opening it up. No new messages from Winter. Weiss opened up the voice mail and played the last message.

“Weiss, I have to leave Vale now, please call me when you can.” She played the one before it and the one before that. With each recording, she could hear how resigned her sister had become with each subsequent unanswered message. After Winter’s first message, a teary plea to call her filled with apologies, finished Weiss was left with a screen offering two options: ‘Callback’ and ‘Delete’. Silently, she contemplated the two buttons, hand hovering over one, then the other.

Finally, Weiss made her choice and pressed the button. With a snap, Weiss closed her scroll and put it away. Rising from the sofa, she left the room. Call unmade and the messages gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes all it takes is an extremely blunt Nora to get people together. I'm posting this early 'cause I've been sitting on it a while and I got bored. Don't I spoil you all? Well actually if I did, I'd be posting the next chapter now as well. I had the reunion dinner planned out since I decided Yang didn't celebrate the Christmas stand-in, although it did oscillate between being a happy occasion and a deeply uncomfortable affair I didn't want to have to write because the Lunar New Year was my favourite celebration as a kid. I think I found a good middle ground between the happy times I had back then and the incredibly awkward meal my family has nowadays.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	33. Chapter 33

“Hey Weiss? Do you think you can fly?” Ruby’s voice drifted down from her bunk and Weiss looked from her Dust studies essay. The four of them were having a fairly lazy Tuesday afternoon, relaxing in the dorm. Classes had been cancelled after lunch due to an unfortunate incident involving Nora, as usual, several fire extinguishers and a disturbingly large amount of weapons-grade Fire Dust which rendered several classrooms unusable and somehow impossible for even Professor Goodwitch’s semblance to fix in time.

“Why are you even asking?” Ruby lolled over the side of her bunk to get a better angle to talk from.

“Well you have wings, and flying’s what wings are used for.” She stated matter-of-factly and Weiss did have to concede the point.

“Maybe I could, I’ve never even considered trying. But the rest of me isn’t bird-like so I don’t know if it’ll work.” The thought of flying had occurred to her before, but such an idea was ludicrous if she was trying to hide her wings. Although the dreams of flight she’d had occasionally were among the more pleasant she’d had.

“Well why not give it a go then?” Yang asked from where she lay, flopped over Blake’s lap. After the events of the reunion dinner, she and Blake hadn’t explicitly said they were dating, but there was a lot more hand-holding and several lingering touches. Ruby on her part, was ecstatic her sister had finally ‘gotten the girl’ as she put it, and had spent the evening after they found out practically bouncing off the walls.

Whilst this coupling wasn’t entirely unexpected, Yang having confessed her attraction to Blake during the dance, Weiss was rather confused as to this ‘pining’ and ‘unresolved sexual tension’ Ruby claimed to have been happening. Fortunately her partner had been kind enough to point out exactly how unobservant Weiss had been during an evening sparring practice, though for some reason she’d mentioned calling it ‘sexual tension’ was inaccurate and said in the heat of the moment, refusing to elaborate further.

“Yang, there are so many ways that could go wrong. I could just not be capable of flight and crash and die. Or even worse, someone could see me.” Weiss rested her head in her hand, thinking of just how disastrous an attempt at flying could go.

“It’s not unknown for Faunus to be able to fly.” Blake intoned, turning a page of a book she’d borrowed from Ruby. “I used to know a bat Faunus in the White Fang who was pretty good at flying, although they were only short distances.”

“Exactly, short distances.” Weiss pointed out. “Albatross fly for miles! And they don’t really fly either, more like gliding on air currents which we do not have here.”

“Why not make some?” Ruby suggested.

“What.” Weiss narrowed her eyes up at her partner, not liking where this was going.

“You know how to use Wind Dust right? You could use that for the air currents.” Ruby’s eyes gleamed as she looked to be imagining all the possibilities a flying Weiss entailed.

“I mean yes, but I’m not nearly as skilled with it as Ice Dust.” Truth be told Weiss was nowhere near as skilled with any other Dust as she was with Ice Dust. The only other sort she used to use on a regular basis was Gravity Dust. With her discovery of directly channelling aura through Dust crystals, Weiss had been making efforts to practise with other kinds of Dust, but Wind was still a type she rarely used, favouring Fire instead.

“These are just sounding like excuses, what are you, chicken?” Yang taunted, chuckling at her oh so funny joke before getting tapped lightly on the head by Blake.

“Yang, we don’t say stuff like that.” She chided gently. “But they have a point Weiss, doesn’t it feel like a waste not to use your trait to its full potential?”

“I…” Weiss tried to formulate an answer.

“Come on Weiss, please~.” Ruby wheedled, giving her best puppy dog eyes. Weiss swore that Ruby knew exactly how little she could resist those wide pools of silver.

“Alright…” She finally acquiesced and Ruby cheered. If nothing else it would give her a welcome distraction from her lingering doubts about not calling Winter. “But if we’re doing this now we need to be incredibly careful, I can’t risk anybody seeing me.” She shuddered at the thought which quickly spiralled into more and more catastrophic scenarios, was it too late to back out now?

“Don’t worry Weiss, we’ve got you covered.” Yang rolled off Blake and trotted over to the closet. After a minute of rummaging around, Yang finally emerged with a variety of clothing and a can of something. “Here ya go, disguise stuff.” She dropped the array of items onto Weiss’ bunk.

“Have you been planning this?” The white-haired girl looked accusingly at Yang who held up her hands in surrender.

“Nope, these are mostly Blake’s clothes, she’s a better fit for you than me and the can was from a Halloween/birthday party before we started at Beacon but it should still be good.”

“What should still be goo-?” Weiss began to ask, but was answered as Yang uncapped the can and sprayed something all over Weiss’ hair.

“Ack! What the hell Yang?!” She shrieked backing away.

“Spray-on hair dye, washes out easily enough. Take a look.” Yang fished out a compact and held it up for Weiss to see. Yang hadn’t done a particularly thorough job for her demonstration but is was effective enough. Weiss’ hair was now a deep midnight black, and aside from a few slivers of white poking out, looked identical to Blake’s. “You’ve got great hair for this, it works best on pale colours. Poor Rubes can’t dye her hair properly at all.”

Blake cocked an eyebrow at this. “Really? But what about those?” She gestured at the end of the younger girl’s hair indicating the gradient from brunette to red. Weiss had idly wondered about that as well as Ruby never seemed to do much with her hair, preferring instead to leave it wild and tousled. A style Weiss very much approved of nowadays.

“Oh that, we don’t really know, her hair’s just like that. Mom’s hair was like that too.” She just shrugged and started sorting through the pile of clothes, trying to find something appropriate to wear. “You should go for a different hairstyle too, Weiss. Try braiding it, should keep it out of the way.” She suggested as she scrutinised an embarrassingly short crop top.

“Ooh, can I do it please?” Ruby crawled out of her bunk and was bouncing on the spot, looking hopefully at Weiss.

“Fine.” She took the can of hair dye and handed it to Ruby, turning her back on the girl whilst removing her tiara to set aside.

“Yay!” She began liberally coating Weiss’ hair in the dye and then waiting a few minutes for it to dry. “I used to do this with my dolls when I was little, Yang won’t let me touch her hair.”

“I don’t let anyone touch my hair.” Yang rebutted, discarding a skirt that looked two sizes too small, even for Weiss.

“Blake does.” Ruby snickered mischievously and Yang stuttered a little, blushing.

“Yeah, well, Blake’s special.” Unnoticed by the blonde, Blake languidly unfolded herself from her bunk and slipped over behind Yang, carding a hand through her hair, drawing a very uncharacteristic squeak from the taller girl.

“Glad to know I’m so special.” Blake practically purred the words, wrapping an arm around her increasingly flushed partner’s waist.

“Ugh, Ruby, remind me we need to have a discussion about PDA in the room. I do not want to come back to find these two doing something untoward.” Weiss groused and flushed a little at a thought she found a little too exciting as Ruby hummed in agreement and began braiding her no longer white hair.

“Do you mean sex Weiss? You know you can just say it.” Yang smirked as Weiss squawked in shock, clearly someone else’s embarrassment bolstering her, though she still had a light dusting of pink on her cheeks. “And you don’t have to worry about that at all.”

“Oh, you’re waiting for marriage then.” Weiss sighed in relief.

“What? Is that really a thing people still do in Atlas?” Yang looked genuinely puzzled at the notion and Blake had a less extreme version of the same expression.

Weiss cocked her head in confusion, Ruby making a noise of displeasure as the strands of hair were pulled from her grasp. “Then why?”

Yang sighed in mild exasperation. “I’m asexual Weiss.”

“But I thought you said you were bi? I don’t know much about this stuff but I do know what that means.” Weiss huffed a little as Yang snorted in amusement.

“Yeah, _biromantic._ I guess I wasn’t really that clear about it. I’ve never got that far with anyone before and it’s just easier sometimes to go with the flow and let people think I mean bisexual. Trust me, I’ve had enough people say ‘you just haven’t met the right guy yet’. Also, I was only like 14 when they started telling me stuff like that, which is just creepy.” She mimed gagging whilst Blake just nuzzled into Yang’s side comfortingly and Ruby made several sad noises.

“You never mentioned that before Yang.” She mumbled unhappily.

“You were only 11, of course I wasn’t going to tell you stuff like that. I don’t really like telling you about it now either.” She shuffled uncomfortably for a moment and leaned further into Blake’s embrace. “Anyway, it’s in the past now. How’s the hair coming along?”

“Almost done, could you just pass me a hair tie?” Yang obliged, pulling one from around her wrist and passing it to Ruby who fiddled with the end and stepped back. “Voila!” Weiss reached back and pulled the end of the braid over her shoulder to take a look at it, Ruby had done a good job, a couple of strands were out of place perhaps, but it was perfectly serviceable. And better yet, Ruby had done it for her.

“Looks great sis.” Yang smiled, finally pulling away from Blake and picking up a couple of items of clothes. “Here ya go, these should fit you okay and be good for flying in.”

“But the back? I need holes for my wings.” Weiss flapped them for emphasis, she’d gotten rather used to emoting and gesturing with them by now to the point where it incredibly hard not to move them underneath her jacket.

“Don’t worry about it.” Blake said. “Those clothes don’t really fit me anymore, when I left, I snuck back to the White Fang camp before anyone knew I was leaving and just grabbed whatever clothes I could find and as many books as I could carry.” She smiled sadly at the memory. “I had to leave behind so much of my collection.”

Returning Blake’s smile sympathetically, she left Blake to be comforted by Yang, who wrapped herself around the cat Faunus. Weiss dug out a utility knife from their survival tools, took the clothes Yang had picked out and walked into the bathroom. It took only a few quick cuts to render the shirt wearable. Weiss had never worn clothes this informal or dark before and she wasn’t sure she liked it, but at least the shirt was a button up. Satisfied with the disguise, Weiss stepped back out into the main room.

“Should I wear a jacket or something?” She asked, moving over to the coat stand.

“And give yourself away by wearing you own clothes after all that work disguising you? You’ll be fine, it’s not that cold out.” Yang instructed fiddling around with something by her desk.

“I suppose…” The weight of what she was about to do was starting to set in. Dear gods what was she thinking? She was about to waltz out of the room with her wings on display for all to see. Her breathing sped up as she thought of all the ways this could wrong. What if someone recognised her? What if she crashed and had to be taken to the infirmary? Thoughts whirled around her head until a soft hand touched her shoulder.

“Hey, you don’t have to do this.” Ruby spoke softly from beside her. “If you don’t want to, we can just stay in.” Weiss took a deep breath, shaking her head and letting Ruby’s voice soothe her fears.

“No, I can do this. I will admit, I am curious as to whether this will work.” She reassured her partner as much as herself. Before she lost any more nerve, Weiss walked over to and opened up her Dust case, spending a few minutes rummaging through until she found two Wind Dust crystals that would be suitable.

“Alright, I’m ready.” She turned to face the rest of her team.

“Not quite.” Yang stepped over and placed a pair of large sunglasses on her face. “You’ve got pretty distinctive eyes and that scar, these will help. Also, they’ll keep the wind and stuff out of your eyes when you do fly.” Weiss smiled at Yang’s confidence in her.

“Assuming I’m able to fly in the first place.” She commented wryly as she was about to place the crystals loose in her jeans pockets, only to stop herself and retrieved proper Dust crystal canisters. Satisfied her cargo was secure, Weiss moved over to the door.

“You’re all coming with me, right?” Her voice wavered minutely as she looked back at the three girls.

“Of course!” Ruby smiled and joined Weiss by the door, opening it a crack to stick her head out. “The coast’s clear.” She informed the quartet and stepped out into the corridor.

Taking a deep, calming breath, Weiss steeled herself and followed her partner out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it occurred to me that posting without warning on Thursday rather than today may mean people don't actually notice the update and get confused when there wasn't one today. Then again I don't really know how everyone else keeps track of the ongoings they're reading, I just check the relevant tags every few hours. So we're dropping a new chapter today as well, it's been a productive week (read: blockers on my projects at work) so I have plenty of buffer to work with.
> 
> As for the chapter itself, it's time for the shenanigans portion where silly things happen and hopefully there's no more trauma for Weiss. Because Weiss learning to fly can only go well, right? Also that asexual character tag has always been there and definitely wasn't added yesterday. For real though, I've had that headcanon for Yang in this fic for a while now but not since the very start so early characterisation may be a bit conflicting.
> 
> It also occurred to me that I may not have properly expressed just how glad I am people read this and leave kudos and comments. I don't really interact very much in the comments and only really answer direct questions because I can get deeply anxious about having conversations not in-person. Much easier to jut shout into the void like this and hope people are listening, which somehow they are. But I do read absolutely every one of the comments I get and actually spend most of the day when I post chapters checking my notifications for any new ones as well as reading over old ones and seeing what feedback people have and how I can incorporate it into the ongoing, which I think is a big plus of serialised fiction. 
> 
> Anyway this note has gotten super long so I'm gonna stop now, but I want to reiterate, thank you for taking your time to read this.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I feel like I should put this here. There's some sexual harassment and references to the harassment of a minor as well. There's not much, but it is there. Just so you know.

“Where are we going?” Weiss asked the others as Ruby led the way down the corridor.

“The CCT tower’s observation deck. You said albatross sort of glide, so the higher up you start the better right?” Ruby answered, glancing back.

“I guess…” Weiss actually had very little confidence in her ability to pull this off, so starting from higher up did not particularly appeal. Nonetheless, she followed her partner who was now quietly singing a song from that movie about that weird boy in green and his mean fairy friend she’d been forced to watch a couple of months ago.

Everything was going smoothly, not meeting anyone as they descended the stairs to the courtyard when, in keeping with Team RWBY tradition, their plans were derailed.

“Hey guys! Whatcha up to?” A loud, familiar voice called out to the four, making them all freeze in place and turn to face a happily grinning Sun and a less exuberant Neptune, completely ignorant of what they’d stumbled onto. Weiss could feel the panic rising, she was going to get caught. This was it. She was doomed.

“Oh, hey Sun…” Blake grinned awkwardly, giving the boy a small wave. “Not much really, pretty boring stuff.”

“Do you want to join us then? We were going to head into Vale and get some noodles.” He offered generously, oblivious to the best death glare Weiss could manage from behind her sunglasses whilst still trembling in fear. Maybe that was why Coco wore them all the time, so people couldn’t tell when she was pissed at them. Neptune however was scrutinising the group who, without realising it, had grouped up protectively around Weiss.

“Who’s that?” He asked, craning his neck to try and see past Yang.

“Who?” She tried to feign innocence which was fooling nobody as Sun also tried to see past them.

“That girl just behind you.” Yang glanced back at Weiss and gave her the most sympathetic look she could muster before turning back to the boys.

“Oh her!” She stepped aside to let them see Weiss properly. “This is… Ebony Way, she’s one of the students from Atlas.” Rolling her eyes at Yang, she took a nervous step forward and bowed slightly in a traditional Atlas greeting.

“Yes, I am Ebony, it is very nice to meet you.” She didn’t notice the rest of her team’s shock as she slipped a little too easily the Atlesian accent she’d spent so long suppressing before coming to Vale and kept her posture ramrod straight. “And you are?”

“Oh I’m Sun and this is Neptune, gotta say, it’s not that often you see an avian Faunus around.” The monkey Faunus offered a hand which Weiss shook gingerly.

“No, you do not. We are quite rare are we not?” She replied, dropping Sun’s hand as quickly as was polite. Neptune meanwhile was peering intently at her.

“You look familiar…” He mused, scrutinising her as Weiss’ heart leapt into her throat. She was going to get caught, by Neptune of all people. Barely controlled panic swirled around her head, faster and faster until the blue-haired boy just shrugged. “Eh, probably just a coincidence. So these three are showing you ‘round huh? Why not come with us? We non-Valeans should stick together, angel.” He grinned cockily at his last words, as though it was the smoothest come-on in existence and Weiss felt her stomach turn at the pet name.

No longer terrified of being discovered, Weiss rolled her eyes at him, before remembering he couldn’t see her eyes behind the sunglasses. She also remembered how he’d hit on her when they first met and regretted how responsive she’d been back then. And of all the terms of endearment he could have chosen, he had to go for that one. She heard a low growl from behind her and when she glanced back, was surprised to see it was Ruby, teeth bared. Neptune however hadn’t seemed to notice.

“So how about it?” He grinned smarmily whilst Sun stood by awkwardly.

“I think not, thank you. These three have already promised to show me around and it would be wrong to make them break their promise, no?” Her polite smile turned vicious with her next words. “And I would very much appreciate it if you refrained from calling me ‘angel’ or any variant thereof, I find it insulting.” Neptune took a step back at the pure venom in her voice as she accidentally slipping back towards Weiss.

Thankfully neither boy seemed to notice as Sun quickly stepped in. “Right, cool. You guys have fun.” And, grabbing Neptune, beat a hasty retreat. The moment they were out of sight, Weiss heaved a great sigh of relief and slouched into her usual, more relaxed posture.

“Thank the gods that’s over.” She groaned, letting the affected accent slip away completely. Turning back to the rest of her team, she met with varying expressions of shock. “What?”

“What do you mean ‘what’? What on Remnant was that?” Yang asked incredulously.

“You’re one who said I was a student from Atlas, so I played the part.” She shrugged and continued on the way, the others following a beat after. “It wasn’t that hard, though I was slipping at the end.”

“I didn’t even know you had an Atlesian accent.” Blake mused, now regarding Weiss with a curious gaze.

“Emphasis on ‘ _had’_ , I spent several months getting rid of it before I came here. Thank the gods those two don’t seem to know much about Atlas.”

“What do you mean?” Ruby inquired, moving up to walk beside Weiss.

“That was a highborn Atlesian accent, only the former nobility and the upper classes have it. But somehow that’s the accent everyone thinks Atlesians have, so only Atlesians know that a Faunus would never speak like that.” Yang grinned evilly at this.

“But you’re a Faunus and you used to speak like that.” She needled gleefully.

“Yes, I’m well aware of the irony Yang.” She rolled her eyes at the blonde. “I got rid of it because I didn’t want to be associated with people like Jacques Schnee.” Weiss broke into dry chuckles. “Ironic really as he’s not even Atlesian. Now can we get a move on? I’d rather not find out if I can keep that ridiculous persona up any longer.”

The four continued out into the courtyard and made their way through the interconnecting walkways, heading towards the tower. Ruby taking the lead and doing a passable pantomime of being a tour guide whilst Blake and Yang flanked Weiss, though keeping a reasonable distance. All throughout the walk Weiss was on edge, wary of anyone who knew them. It was all well and good fooling Sun and Neptune, they were mere acquaintances, but Weiss doubted her acting abilities if it were to come to someone from Team JNPR. In fact of all the people Weiss was afraid of running into, Nora was probably at the top of that list. Whilst… charming in her own way, the girl did lack tact, subtlety and any form of volume control.

Along the way, Weiss did notice a few curious look from the other students, varying from polite interest, mostly from the occasional Faunus, to open gawking or disdain. It made her profoundly uncomfortable to be looked at like that which she found puzzling.

She was used to attention and people staring at her, hell, she’d performed in concerts in front of hundreds of people without feeling like this. But having people focussing on her wings like this made her deeply uneasy, she supposed she was getting a glimpse into what it was like to openly be a Faunus. Weiss had always thought of her hiding herself as a necessity to taking control of the SDC and had never thought of the prejudice she’d encounter just by being her.

“Hey, angel! Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?” She heard a particularly slimy boy call out as they walked past as well as the congratulations from his compatriots for his oh-so original ‘compliment’. There were a few other remarks like this as well, crude suggestions, wolf whistles and a particularly creative one involving ‘wing boners’ whatever that meant. Weiss felt herself instinctively shrinking into herself, pulling her wings flat against her back from their usual relaxed position as her stomach turned. Ruby seemed to tense up whenever something was shouted at Weiss and Blake was growling softly from beside the heiress.

What was worse than the catcalls though, was the students who would deliberately avoid her. When they saw her coming, they would promptly change direction or move to a different yet parallel path, muttering between themselves as they passed, throwing her disdainful looks.

“Is it always like this?” She asked Blake mournfully and felt something unpleasant coil in her stomach when the cat Faunus nodded.

“It can be, it’s not just people like Cardin. Even ordinary people who claim to not have a discriminatory bone in their body don’t trust us, or they think we’re somehow less than them just because we’re different.” Blake gave Weiss a sorrowful look. “I wish this wasn’t your first experience being out like this.”

“Well it is and if this is the way things are, I’d rather know now.” Something was still bothering her though. “If they hate us so much, why are some of them trying to hit on me?”

Blake’s eyes hardened and there was barely suppressed rage in her voice as she explained. “Some Humans like to think we’re ‘exotic’ or have these ideas that we’re more like animals than we really are. Velvet told me she sometimes gets remarks like that because she’s a rabbit Faunus. Back when I was open with my trait I can’t remember how many times I had men asking whether they could ‘pet the pretty kitty’ or suggest that they could ‘tame’ me.” The pure vitriol in Blake’s tone was shocking to Weiss, she’d never heard her this angry about something before.

“I didn’t start hiding what I am in public when I started at Beacon. I starting wearing this bow when I was 15 and I never took it off in public since.” She let the weight of her words sink in and Weiss felt even more nauseous. Yang meanwhile growled angrily and moved around Weiss to be with her partner.

“That should never have happened.” She muttered, trying to keep her anger in check as she offered her hand to Blake which she took with a grateful smile.

“Sometimes people can be terrible, I’m used to it by now. Besides it doesn’t happen that often, it’s probably because they’ve never seen an avian Faunus before.”

“But you shouldn’t be used to it.” Yang stated firmly over Weiss’ muttered ‘oh joy’ at the prospect of being ogled like a prime steak.

“I tried to change things Yang, but it didn’t do much good. People don’t throw rocks at us anymore or bar us from jobs or their stores. But they do it out of fear, not because they believe any differently to before.” Blake sighed deeply and regretfully. “The whole system’s broken and sometimes I wondered whether the White Fang was too small with its goals.”

Weiss looked at Blake with wide eyes. “Blake, surely you don’t mean…?”

The dark-haired girl chuckled darkly. “World-wide revolution and complete dismantling of all institutions perpetuating injustice? I did, or at least I thought I did.” She hung her head as they approached the base of the tower. “I was young and angry, I saw a world that was broken and instead of wanting to fix it, I wanted to burn it to the ground. Adam convinced me we could build a better one and I still find it hard to believe I just went along with it.”

“We all make mistakes Blakey and I have no doubt you always had good intentions.” Yang pulled the other girl in a little closer, bumping shoulders before reaching up and rubbing the back of her head with her free hand. “Although on a previous note, does this mean you don’t want me to call you kitten like I did yesterday, it’s just you never complained and I didn’t know about the stuff people used to say to you and-.” Yang’s rambling was silenced by Blake placing a hand over the blonde’s mouth.

“If I wasn’t fine with it I would have said something.” For some reason Yang raised a sceptical eyebrow at Blake who didn’t seem to notice. “Also, I kind of like it.” Blake’s cheeks pinked slightly as did Yang’s. Weiss just groaned quietly as the pair nuzzled up to one another. Not to say she wasn’t happy for them, it was great that they’d found each other, but did they have to be so sickeningly cute around her? It left an odd, bitter taste in her mouth that she couldn’t quite explain.

“If you two are done being all lovey-dovey, we’re here.” Ruby announced and sure enough they were at the base of the CCT tower. Weiss remembered the last time she’d stood here, watching Ruby run off after that creepy Penny girl. Again that same bitter taste filled her mouth as Ruby continued to lead the way into the tower and into the elevator.

“Hello and welcome to the CCT, how may I help you?” The unnerving A.I. asked the group and Weiss shuddered minutely.

“We’d like to go up to the observation deck please!” Ruby chirped, unaffected by the manufactured voice.

“Absolutely, if you could all please present your scrolls to verify your identities.” In turn they each produced their scrolls and waved them over the scanner, Weiss hesitating at first but eventually did so as well. A nervous weight settled in Weiss’ stomach as they ascended towards what might be the dumbest thing Weiss would ever do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This did not turn out the way I thought it would. Originally the last chapter had the flying a part of it but I split it off for length and it was going to be in this one. But once again for length and now tone purposes I cut it so the promised shenanigans were going to be here, but got delayed a little. Most of the bits walking through the courtyard were only added over the weekend and boy did I feel icky just writing it. I spent a while going back and forth whether I wanted to include certain bits, you can probably guess which, but ultimately decided to keep them.
> 
> On a lighter note I did spend pretty much the entire weekend listening to the volume 6. album and it is great. Now I really want to try to fit more Neo into this because I absolutely adore her, even if she is one of the bad guys.
> 
> As always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	35. Chapter 35

“So, I’m really going to do this.” Weiss spoke aloud, mainly trying to reassure herself as the four emerged from the lift onto the open-air platform.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Yang dismissed the heiress’ concerns with a wave of her hand.

“You say that but…” Weiss gestured towards the edge of the platform which of course had a high fence running along it.

“Ah, didn’t think of that. Sorry Weiss.” Ruby apologised, scuffing her boot against the floor.

“Why is there even a barrier up here in the first place?” Yang asked in incredulity. “Our first test was literally throwing us off a cliff!”

“Because A: civilians use the tower and can come up here and B: you do need at least a nominal barrier to prevent people from just jumping or it wouldn’t be safe.” Weiss explained patiently. “It’s fine though, I can just jump over it or something.” Weiss regarded the barrier with a critical eye, she could definitely vault that with enough of a run up. “That said I’m not entirely sure what to do with these” Weiss withdrew the two Dust crystals she’d brought with her. “Aren’t wind currents normally external to the bird?”

“Well, yeah. Of course they are.” Yang paused, contemplating exactly what Weiss should do. “Um Blake, any ideas?” Her partner just rolled her eyes, pulling out her scroll and reading through something.

“Well you have a couple of options. Option A: you create glyphs to generate the air currents to glide on, but that could be difficult when you’re moving and trying to stay aloft at the same time, not to mention your glyphs are very distinctive. Option B: You use them as a form of propulsion to generate lift over your wings which would certainly be easier, problem with that is I don’t know whether that works for bird wings.” Then she shrugged helplessly. “As for steering and other bits I don’t know.”

“Yes, this was such a good idea.” Weiss snarked, trying to keep the nervous waver out of her voice. “Ruby, any words of wisdom.” The young girl tapped her finger against her lip in thought.

“Don’t crash? Oh but if you do, I’ll be there to catch you!” She gave Weiss a blinding smile that somewhat alleviated her nervousness at leaping off a several storeys high building.

“If you say so…” Taking a deep breath, Weiss walked back from the edge of the roof. Methodically she flexed out her wings and extended them fully, feeling a small twinge in both that sudden made them feel a lot less strained. She could do this. Just like initiation, except she didn’t have Myrtenaster with her to help. Breathing deeply, she took a few steps back and then ran full tilt at the edge and leaped, forcing a brief burst of aura through the dust crystals to launch herself over the fence and into the air.

For the first few seconds all Weiss could hear was air rushing past and the pounding of blood in her ears as the adrenaline kicked in and she whooped in exhilaration. Then she realised something, she wasn’t flying, she was falling! Panicking, she tried to angle herself up to catch the wind but was unable to manoeuvre properly. Thinking fast, she forced her aura out into the crystals and thrust her hands forward. Twin cyclones manifested from small glyphs at her hands forcing her out of her uncontrolled swan dive and to a point where her wings caught the air and she levelled out. It didn’t help much as she was still descending at a pace far too rapid for her liking as she flew into a spiral, spinning down towards the ground, accelerating at a worrying pace. Again she pulsed her aura to try and level out further but the spiral was too rapid.

Panic kept coursing through her brain, she was going to crash, she knew this was a bad idea. As the floor rushed up to meet her, Weiss flared her aura to hopefully absorb most of the impact. Then, she thought she heard a faint cry through the rush of wind and then everything went red. She felt herself yanked out of her spiralling descent killing most of her downward momentum, but she was still moving fast and the ground was coming up. Weiss closed her eyes, bracing for impact.

The first impact _hurt_ as she slammed into something soft and bounced back up to land a second time, no less painful than the first, further along which became a long skid across the ground until eventually, she came to a stop. Weiss could feel the crackling as her aura broke, that was possibly the hardest she’d hit or been hit by anything if it broke her aura in one shot.

“Owww…” A voice moaned from beneath Weiss. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see Ruby’s pained face looking back up at her, the younger girl’s own aura flickering out.

“Oh my gods, Ruby are you okay?” Weiss tried to hoist herself up to check Ruby over properly but a sharp pain forced her to drop back down. Then she realised she and Ruby were in a rather compromising position, herself sprawled out atop her partner, faces mere inches apart.

“Told you I would catch you.” The brunette joked weakly, earning a light tap from Weiss.

“Don’t joke about this, you could’ve been seriously hurt!” She scolded, her hair coming loose from its braid after the windswept descent and falling around her face.

“But I saved you, right?” Ruby flashed a still pained grin up at her causing Weiss’ harsh glare to soften slightly.

“Yes, you did, you dolt. But that’s no excuse. I have no idea what I’d do if you got badly hurt or worse.”

“Aw Weiss, I didn’t know you cared so much.” Ruby kept smiling sweetly and alongside the adrenaline still pumping through her, Weiss could feel something else fluttering in her stomach.

“You have no idea just how much I care about you, Ruby Rose.” She murmured softly, gazing in adoration at the girl still pinned beneath her, ice blue meeting gleaming silver. Gods she wanted to kiss Ruby so, so badly. With the adrenaline urging her on and her heart beating so fast it felt like it would burst, Weiss slowly lowered her face towards Ruby’s, letting her eyes flicker shut as Ruby’s widened for a second, then did the same as she leaned up to meet her.

“Ruby! Wei-! I mean Ebony! Are you alright?!” A loud yell startled the pair of them, causing Weiss to jump back and topple off of Ruby with a squawk of surprise and pain. They looked up to see Yang sprinting across the courtyard they’d landed in, Blake close behind.

“Yes we’re fine, mostly.” Weiss called back, unleashing a silent litany of curses in her head at Yang for interrupting.

“Oh thank the gods.” Yang collapsed in a heap beside the pair, panting heavily. “When you started falling… I am so sorry I goaded you into this Weiss.”

“It’s fine, it was my choice to jump, don’t feel too bad about it.” Weiss reassured the blonde, although internally she thought there was something far more important she should be apologising for.

“Can either of you walk?” Blake asked, hovering awkwardly over the three. After some effort, Weiss was able get to her feet though she was still a bit wobbly and Ruby was leaned heavily on Yang’s shoulder.

“Well I think we’ve all learned something valuable here today.” Weiss commented wryly as they slowly limped their way back to the room. “I am never trying that again.”

* * *

 

Weiss' pain had faded to a dull throb by the time they reached the dorm room, Yang checking quickly to make sure no-one they knew was around before hurrying Weiss inside.

“I’ll run and grab some frozen peas from the common room, Pyrrha keeps some in there for Jaune.” Yang informed them as she jogged off. Weiss and Ruby settled themselves gingerly on Weiss’ bunk and began properly assessing their injuries. Their auras were slowly regenerating but weren’t at a point where they could start healing, something Weiss had learned following up on her regrowing capabilities.

Apparently, aura wouldn’t heal someone until it was above a certain threshold to prevent them from being completely undefended whilst healing, a useful failsafe. It didn’t feel very useful right now though, as Weiss inspected the grazes on her palms from their skid along the ground. She could also feel a throbbing pain in her side, probably a cracked rib, and her left wing felt incredibly painful to move. Ruby meanwhile was holding one of her wrists rather gingerly as Blake inspected it.

“It’s not broken, but it is a rather bad sprain.” She concluded, letting Ruby retrieve her hand and moving over to look over Weiss.

“That’s good.” The brunette winced as she cradled the afflicted wrist, she also appeared to have a few grazes on her dirt-smudged face and was shifting uncomfortably every time she breathed in. Weiss felt herself relax a little as Blake ran her hands over her wings, smoothing feathers and checking for injuries.

“It looks like you’ve sprained your wing, Weiss.” That was mildly concerning, if she couldn’t move her wing properly, hiding it would be difficult.

“Will it heal by tomorrow?” She asked nervously.

“I think so, soon as Yang gets back with the peas, we can get ice on the both of you and that’ll help with the swelling until your aura comes back.” Blake reassured, moving to check the other wing.

“Hey Weiss, I’m sorry, it was a dumb idea and now you got hurt and-.” Ruby started a rambling apology that was silenced by Weiss placing a hand over the younger girl’s mouth.

“Yes, it was stupid and reckless. But I don’t blame you and you shouldn’t blame yourself either.” She instructed firmly, she would gesture in a mildly threatening manner, but her other arm was busy cradling her abdomen and cracked rib. Ruby still looked quite guilty, but managed a faint smile that made Weiss’ heart feel like it had melted into a pile of mush. A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered the way Ruby’s breath had ghosted over her lips, how captivating her eyes had been just before they closed in anticipation.

They needed to talk about what had happened, there was no getting around it. She could see it now, Weiss would confess her feelings to Ruby who’d be incredibly awkward about it and try to let Weiss down gently and say they could still be friends. She had intended to wait, to properly formulate what she would say and be worthy of Ruby’s affections. But she’d been so stupid and let her emotions get the better of her. Surely Ruby must have an inkling after that moment, she kept shooting Weiss nervous glances whenever she thought she wasn’t looking.

“I’m back!” Yang burst into the room, carrying several bags of frozen peas.

“Are those all Jaune’s?” Weiss asked in disbelief as the pile was deposited on a desk and Blake fetched some towels from the bathroom.

“Yep, he must get beat up by Pyrrha quite a lot.” Yang answered beginning to wrap the bags in Blake’s towels and hand them over to the injured pair. Once Weiss had pressed one of the bags against her afflicted ribs, a problem arose.

“Um, could one of you hold the bag to my wing please? I can’t reach with this one as well.” She flapped the sprained wing for emphasis and promptly regretted it as pain shot through the joint. Ruby opened her mouth as though about to offer but then closed it without a word, leaving Blake to take up the duty of wing-icer.

“So I’m guess we’re at a hard no on any more flying escapades then?” Yang asked, fussing over her sister, despite Ruby’s protests.

“I should think so, I don’t think flying is really for me nor does it seem particularly practical if I need to throw myself off a tall building whenever I want to try.” Weiss commented wryly. “Remind me, why we went to the CCT tower instead of the cliffs or anywhere a bit more isolated?”

“Not enough time to get there.” Yang shrugged. “Rubes and I talked about it, we didn’t want you flying in the dark.” Weiss just gave the sisters a flat stare that was mimicked by Blake.

“You do remember we can see perfectly in the dark don’t you?” Blake drawled, gesturing between herself and Weiss. Both sisters turned bright red as realisation dawned on them both.

“Ohhhhhh, yeah. Forgot about that didn’t we.” Yang sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

“Yes, you did.” Weiss deadpanned. “At least it didn’t go horribly wrong and I wasn’t caught, all in all it wasn’t particularly eventful I’d say.” Blake hummed in slight disagreement.

“Weiss, that was your first time out openly as a Faunus, aren’t you bothered by what happened earlier?” Weiss turned to look at Blake properly.

“Of course I’m bothered, I still feel nauseous whenever I think of what they said to me, or how it stings that people were going out of their way to avoid me. But it won’t be forever, not when I take charge. So I can deal for now.” Again, Blake hummed in faint disagreement, but didn’t follow it up this time, removing the bag of peas from Weiss’ wing to inspect it.

“Well there’s no swelling so we’re good for now I reckon, how’s your aura?” Weiss concentrated for a moment, feeling the familiar tingling in her ribcage.

“It’s healing up my rib now. Ruby?”

“I think so?” Weiss turned to look at her and could see the scabs on her face flaking off to reveal unbroken skin.

“You look fine.” Weiss was greatly relieved she wasn’t going to scar, although she knew the cuts were nowhere near deep enough to do that.

“Great, Blake would you mind giving me a hand taking these back before they defrost?” Yang gestured to the several other unused bags still sat on the desk. With a nod of agreement, the partners collected up the remaining bags and departed, leaving Ruby and Weiss alone.

There was an awkward silence, Weiss knew this was the perfect opportunity to ask Ruby about earlier, but the words were stuck in her throat. She just couldn’t confess, couldn’t let her heart be broken like that. So they sat quietly for another several minutes, only a few feet between them, though the gap felt wider than that. Eventually Weiss stood up, her side no longer hurting.

“I’m going to take a shower, wash the dye out of my hair.” Ruby made a quiet noise of acknowledgement so Weiss collected her shower things and night dress and stepped into the bathroom. Gingerly, she shucked her borrowed clothing, careful not to disturb her still sore wing and climbed into the shower. It took a while, but eventually the water cascading down her eventually ran clear as the last of the dye was washed away leaving her hair pristine and white again. It had been a novel experience having black hair, but not one she really intended to repeat.

Satisfied with her state of cleanliness, Weiss stepped out and changed into her night dress, carefully folding the borrowed clothes to return to Blake if she wanted them returned, though she doubted it given the top had two wing slits cut into.

Blake and Yang had returned when Weiss emerged and Ruby had gotten changed, flopped out on her bunk playing a game on her scroll. Realising the moment to talk had passed, Weiss bade them all good night and crawled into her bunk. Eventually she drifted off into an uneasy sleep, filled with eyes of molten silver and rose petals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that went well... As Weiss said though, it really could've gone worse, there were drafts where she and Ruby actually got seriously injured. Not really much else to say though, except for damnit Yang!
> 
> As always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	36. Chapter 36

Something was wrong with Ruby, she and Weiss had barely interacted since Weiss’ disastrous attempt at flying several days ago. If she didn’t know any better, Weiss would say Ruby was avoiding her, so it was a good thing she didn’t know any better because Ruby was definitely avoiding her. Not only that, but whenever they were forced together, Ruby was unusually distant but when asked whether something was wrong, she’d brush it off and say she was fine.

At first she’d thought it was out of guilt over the airborne debacle. But she’d made it very clear at several points that she didn’t blame Ruby for what happened. But still the team leader remained absent.

“Why is she avoiding me?” Weiss moaned, splayed out upside down on her bunk, wings twitching in agitation. Across from her, Yang and Blake exchanged a look.

“Well I know Ruby and she wouldn’t do something like that, she was vanishing a lot during the last week and maybe it’s something to do with that.” Yang replied as she busied herself with fiddling with Blake’s hair.

“But she has!” Weiss rolled over to look at the couple properly. “Even when we’re together in classes she refuses to sit next to me, just like before winter break.”

“Wait, when exactly was this?” Blake cocked her head curiously and Weiss wracked her brains.

“It was just after I got my first suit from Coco, Blake and I spent the evening eating Nora’s syrup ice cream.” Weiss shrugged a little, her recollection of that day was kind of hazy. Something flickered in Blake’s eyes and Yang pointed an accusatory finger at the pair of them.

“That was you!? I got interrogated by Nora for hours before she found out it was Cardin, but it was actually you!” She folded her arms and pouted at Blake. “I’m hurt, hurt and betrayed you didn’t share any with me.”

“Yang.” Blake’s voice was oddly calm and measured. “That was the day you spent the evening with Ruby eating cookie dough ice cream after her… you know.” She gave Yang a very meaningful look which completely baffled Weiss. She remembered that day a bit clearer now, how they’d returned to the dorm to find Ruby upset, then Yang sending them both away without explanation and Weiss having a breakdown. Oh right, that was why it had been so fuzzy the first time, she’d deliberately tried to forget.

“Ohhhh…!” Comprehension was dawning on Yang’s face as she gave Weiss a look, only confusing her further. “That day, right… Hold on, so you think?” Blake nodded. “And that…?” Another nod.

“Excuse me? But could one of you please tell me what you’re talking about.” Weiss huffed irritably, pulling herself upright to better glare at the two. Yang looked at Weiss with something akin to sympathy in her eyes.

“Weiss, did something happen between you and Ruby during the last couple of days?”

Weiss cocked an eyebrow in further confusion. “Like an argument? No, nothing of the sort.”

Yang shook her head. “Not like that, jeez this is hard to say when it’s your kid sister.” She muttered and tailed off, so Blake picked up the slack.

“Did anything particularly intimate happen between you and Ruby?” She asked bluntly, both Weiss and Yang turning scarlet.

“What!? No, no, no. Ruby and I aren’t like that.” The white-haired girl flailed as she recalled their almost kiss in the courtyard.

“Weiss…” The untold threat and disappointment in Blake’s voice convinced Weiss her attempt at concealment had obviously failed and she slumped.

“Fine, there was something.” Blake gave Yang a look that could only be described as ‘I told you so’ distilled into its purest form. “After Ruby caught me when I fell, we uh, landed in a compromising position.” Weiss blushed even deeper at the memory and her next words were barely a whisper. “And we almost kissed.”

“What was that?” Yang asked perplexed, as Blake grinned widely. Of course she’d heard, stupid cat ears. Weiss took a few moments to steady her nerves before she repeated herself.

“I almost kissed Ruby.” Somehow Blake’s smile grew even wider whilst Yang gaped.

“Wait, wait, wait. You _almost_ kissed Ruby? Why only almost?”

“Because you interrupted us before we could.” Weiss sniped, still a little sore about that. In Yang’s favour she did look appropriately apologetic, Blake on the other hand started snickering.

“I am so sorry, Weiss. I had no idea. I was scared the two of you were hurt. Argh! This is all my fault!” Hold on, how was this all Yang’s fault? The blonde’s head drooped and she buried her face in her hands.

“Don’t go blaming yourself now, it was an accident.” Blake soothed her girlfriend, rubbing calming circles on her back. After a while she turned back to Weiss. “You like Ruby don’t you Weiss? You need to go find her and tell her how you feel.” She just shook her head, it all made sense now, the distance, how Ruby would avoid touching her.

“What’s the point? I know why she’s been avoiding me now. She worked out I like her and she’s staying away because I disgust her.” Weiss could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.

“You really are determined to hate yourself, aren’t you?” Blake asked and Yang looked up at Weiss in complete confusion.

“How does that even work? She was over the moon when Blake and I got together.”

“Having someone who’s gay be interested in you is different.” Weiss defended feebly, too busy feeling sorry for herself as she hung her head and let the tears flow freely. Her wings wrapped around herself, forming a protective cocoon of feathers as she sniffed and tried not to start sobbing. Yang just sighed deeply and looked to Blake, whispering something into her ear. Eventually, Blake nodded, but didn’t look too pleased about it.

“Okay Weiss, I don’t want to do this and I was fine letting it play out before, but this has hurt both of you for long enough. Also Ruby did it to us, so turnabout’s fair play.” She took a deep breath before ploughing on. “Ruby’s a lesbian Weiss, and she’s been pining over you for months now.”

Weiss’ head shot up, surely she’d heard wrong. She looked over at Blake for confirmation and the cat Faunus nodded and smiled gently. “She adores you and I know you haven’t seen it, but believe me, the way she looks at you…” Blake looked as though she were trying to find the words to describe it.

“Kind of the way you look at her sometimes.” Yang supplied helpfully. “It’s really sappy and cute.”

“But, but why?” Weiss was gobsmacked, how could this be possible? “I’m nothing! I’m petty and arrogant and weak whilst she’s…” She cast around for the words to describe just how wonderful Ruby was. “She’s so brave and strong and beautiful. All she wants to do is help people and make the world a better place.” The white-haired girl paused for a moment to catch her breath and the word to describe Ruby came to her. “She’s perfect. And I’m not. So how could she want someone like me?” Tears of self-pity welled up again as she looked at the partners for an answer.

“Oh Weiss, you are so much better than you think you are.” Blake slid off the bunk and over to her side. “And it’s not a matter of someone not being worthy of another’s affections. The heart wants what it wants, and Ruby’s wants you.”

“Then why has she been avoiding me? If she likes me then why would she do that?” Weiss all but wailed desperately trying to cling to something that would disprove their theory.

“I think Ruby needs to explain that herself.” Yang moved to stand over the teary-eyed heiress. “Another reason you need to go find her and talk to her about this.” She grabbed Weiss by the wrist and with an insistent tug, pulled her to her feet.

“You shouldn’t be doing this, I’m not worth it.” Weiss mumbled, still refusing to meet Yang’s eye.

“Yes you are.” The blonde insisted, grabbing Weiss’ jacket and bringing it back over to her. “Please just stop protesting and go. Believe it or not but we both really care about you and want you to be happy, both of you. So go!” Yang gave the smaller girl a gentle shove towards the door. Sighing in resignation, Weiss pulled on her jacket and left the room in search of Ruby.

* * *

 

Weiss eventually found Ruby in the training gym, whaling on a punching bag with a flurry of blows too fast for her to see. For a moment, she just leaned against the doorframe and watched her partner, glistening with sweat, corded muscles flexing as she finished her combo with a powerful roundhouse kick that brought her spinning round to see Weiss at the door.

“O-oh Weiss… What are you doing here?” The brunette halted her exercise and turned to face Weiss although her eyes remained averted.

“I was looking for you.” Weiss walked into the room, letting the door swing shut behind her, giving them some privacy. “I wanted-. No, needed to talk to you.” She sat down on a bench and patted the spot next to her. Reluctantly, Ruby joined her partner but sat noticeably farther away than Weiss had indicated.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Not a question, a statement of fact, one that Ruby did not dispute as she hung her head.

“I’m sorry Weiss, but I had to.” Her voice was quiet and plaintive, begging Weiss not to continue.

“I’m not interested in apologies. I want to know why.” Weiss carefully fished for information, it felt dishonest not to disclose what Yang and Blake had told her but she wanted to hold onto it in case they were wrong. Ruby looked distraught, eyes silently pleading with Weiss to leave it, but she was having none of it. Finally, she sank down into herself and mumbled.

“I like you. As in like-like you.” It took a moment for the words to sink in, during which time Ruby got up and started pacing, continuing to explain. “When you were trying to fly and we crashed and I was so glad you were safe. I-I couldn’t help myself and I just wanted to kiss you so badly and I didn’t hold back and you saw. So I stayed away ‘cause I knew you couldn’t accept my feelings.” Ruby looked absolutely miserable as she went on. “You’re straight and even if you weren’t, you’d want a real girl, not someone like me.”

Weiss felt a flare of anger and she all but leapt to her feet. “Ruby Rose, don’t you dare say that!” She marched up to her partner and took her hands in her own. “How dare you presume that of me or say such a thing about yourself!” Icy blue glared into watery silver. “You are the most beautiful and amazing girl I have ever met and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, even yourself.”

“B-But I-.”

“But nothing.” Weiss was on a roll and not paying full attention to her words. “I love you so much, but gods help me if you say anything else that dumb I-.”

“You love me?” Ruby’s stunned words rang out, silencing Weiss.

“I-I didn’t mean to tell you like this I-.” Once again Weiss was silenced, this time by a fervent and insistent kiss from Ruby. She could feel her smiling against her as Weiss reciprocated hungrily, the brunette tasted inexplicably of strawberries. Dear gods this was the best thing ever and Weiss wished it would never end. Sadly, though her own lung capacity was quite impressive, Ruby’s was less so and had to pull away to draw breath. Resting their foreheads against each other and breathing heavily, they both broke into the widest smiles and started giggling softly.

“You have no idea how long I wanted to do that for.” Weiss panted, eyes never leaving Ruby’s.

“I bet I wanted it for longer.” The brunette smirked back.

“Well then, I guess I’d better make up for making you wait.” She moved in but was held back by Ruby.

“Wait, shouldn’t we talk properly about this?” Weiss considered momentarily, then shook her head.

“Later, right now I just want to kiss you.” And she did so, peppering the brunette’s lips with soft pecks of affection as she lost herself in Ruby’s embrace.

* * *

 

“You mean I was your gay awakening?” Ruby looked immensely pleased with herself as they sat on the weights bench having spent in indeterminate amount of time kissing before breaking apart to have a proper conversation.

“You don’t have to be so smug about it, you were unfairly tall and muscular. What do you expect?” Weiss pouted, only relenting when Ruby pulled her into a hug.

“Aww, don’t pout, even though you look really cute when you do.” Ruby nuzzled into the increasingly flushed heiress. “I’m really flattered actually, I was hoping to impress you but you ran away before I could ask properly.”

“So maybe I freaked out a little when I realised I might be gay and ran off to look for Yang. I’m sorry I did that to you and everything else, trying to get with Neptune, not confessing sooner.” Weiss hung her head guiltily, only for Ruby to place a hand under her chin and raise her head to look at her properly.

“That doesn’t matter, we’re together-together now, girlfriends.” Ruby blushed as well. “If you want to be that is.”

“Ruby, we just spent I don’t know how long kissing, I’d love to be your girlfriend.” An uneasy thought wormed its way into Weiss’ head and demanded to be given voice. “But we have to keep this a secret, if that’s a deal-breaker I understand. I would love for everyone to know I’m your girlfriend, but everyone includes Jacques Schnee and if he were to find out, I don’t want to think what he might do.” She didn’t tell Ruby that she had thought about it in terrifying detail and what he would do scared her more than any Grimm.

“I don’t mind, really I don’t. Staying safe is more important.” Sniffing a little, Weiss buried her face in Ruby’s shoulder.

“What did I ever do to deserve you?” She murmured as the brunette carded her fingers through Weiss’ tresses.

“I ask myself that all the time.” They stayed like that for a minute, then Weiss pulled back.

“We should probably go, we should tell Blake and Yang.” She stood and offered a hand to her partner who accepted it graciously, intertwining their fingers.

“You know Yang is going to be insufferable about this.”

“Of course she is.” Weiss began to lead the way to the door when a thought struck her. “One last thing.” Ruby opened her mouth to ask what Weiss meant, but was silenced by the heiress planting a quick kiss on her lips. “There, now we can go.” And with that, Weiss pulled a flushed and giggling Ruby from the room, hands still firmly clasped together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! It took these two way too freaking long to just talk to each other, they really do need to learn that communication is super important in a relationship. Also I know the 'real girl' thing is kind of overdone and stupid, but I'd be lying if I said I'd never felt like that before so... Anyways, huzzah, time for fluff and I'm sure the plot won't sneak up on us whilst we're busy with Weiss and Ruby being sickeningly cute.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated


	37. Chapter 37

To say Weiss was happy would be an understatement, half the time she wondered why she wasn’t exploding with delirious joy.

_Ruby_ liked her!

Ruby _liked_ her!

Ruby liked _her!_

It took a remarkable amount of self-control not to gush about it to Blake during their next Sunday café meet up. Okay, so maybe she spent ten minutes tops recounting what had happened in the gym over her mocha, Blake smiling indulgently whilst sipping at her tea.

Of course, feeling like you’re floating on air all the time did have its disadvantages. For the first time in her life, Weiss had been reprimanded for not paying attention in class and had been forced to rewrite her entire essay on the application of Lightning Dust because she’d idly drawn little hearts all over it with ‘RR + WS’ written inside.

So here she was, sat up in the stands of the arena, watching Ruby with starry eyes as the younger girl demolished Russel Thrush and Delphine, oh and Jaune was there too. Professor Goodwitch had explained that this lesson was about learning to work with unfamiliar partners. When they left Beacon they may not have the luxury of being able to work with their partners from the last four years so versatility was important. The idea of not working with Ruby after Beacon was simply abhorrent, though a soft voice in the back of her head questioned whether she was even going to be a huntress after they left.

Not fighting alongside Ruby did have its perks though, namely getting to watch her girlfriend (Gods it felt so good to call her that) prove exactly why she’d been admitted early to Beacon. Weiss wished she had a closer view, so she could see exactly how Ruby’s muscles rippled as she hefted her massive weapon around the battlefield. Maybe later she could persuade Ruby to try lifting with herself as the weight, purely for scientific reasons of course.

“Weiss, you’re thirsting again.” Yang’s dry voice cut through the heiress’ reverie. “You look like you want to tell her to ‘take me now’ right now in the middle of the arena.” Weiss blushed furiously as she rounded on a now grinning Yang.

“I do not! How could you suggest something so crude?!” She spluttered indignantly, trying desperately to not conjure up the image in her mind. “And I would’ve thought the asexual wouldn’t like to talk about stuff like that.” Yang just snickered in response.

“Just because I’m ace doesn’t mean I’m sex-repulsed. Besides, it’s fun to tease people about it even if I have no interest.” She paused for a moment, then shuddered. “Actually, on second thoughts when it’s your sister…” Yang mimed gagging, amusing Blake who smiled at her girlfriend’s antics.

After her charade had finished, she continued. “Seriously though, if you and Rubes are keeping things quiet, you need to tone it down.” Weiss pouted and turned back to face the arena where Ruby was slipping past Delphine’s guard, sending her flying back while Russel had Jaune in a headlock. For a few minutes Weiss tried to focus on the other fighters, the qualifiers for the tournament were in a month and Weiss was not going in unprepared. But her gaze kept getting drawn back to the girl in red as she cartwheeled across the arena floor in an unrelenting assault. Dear gods she had it bad.

The match was called not two minutes later when Jaune managed to wriggle out of Russel’s grip and smacked him repeatedly in the face with his shield.

“Let’s see… Next up we have Miss Schnee and Miss Nikos versus Mister Winchester and Miss Viridia. If you could please collect your equipment, you have one minute before the bout begins to strategize.”

Rising from her seat, Weiss joined Pyrrha as they made their way into the locker room.

“Cardin’s tough, perhaps a little too tough for me to take out on my own.” Weiss suggested as she collected Myrtenaster. “You can handle him though, right?”

“I should be able to.” Pyrrha was strapping on her armour, ensuring it was secure. “Have you fought anyone from Team JAYD before?”

“No, but I’ve seen them in action. Jade’s pretty agile, but I can probably immobilise her if I get a hit in, she’s not particularly strong.” Pyrrha nodded in agreement.

“Ideally Cardin should be working a more defensive role to protect his more fragile partner but neither of them is particularly team oriented so they’ll probably do their own thing.” Weiss hummed in agreement as Pyrrha finished with her armour and picked up Miló and Akúo̱.

“I think we’re ready then.” And the pair stepped out into the arena.

“Kick their butts Weiss!” A high-pitched cheer came from the stands which was shushed by Goodwitch as Weiss face blazed and she ducked her head to hide it. Half a minute later, Cardin and Jade emerged from the other side of the arena, Jade’s fluorescent green hair impossible to miss. Whilst Cardin was tall and muscular, Jade was tiny, only just breaking five foot and incredibly skinny, like a strong breeze would blow her away. Contrasting this were the massive boots and gauntlets she wore each with a rotor attached which she was currently fiddling with as they waited for Goodwitch to begin the round.

Calmly, Weiss settled into en garde, she wasn’t wearing her new jacket for this, it was a surprise for the tournament proper. But her usual gear should suffice, especially with Pyrrha to back her up.

“Combatants ready?” They all nodded. “Begin!”

Weiss learned the hard way that Jade was almost as fast as Ruby, the green-haired girl launched herself forwards in a burst of wind, bringing one of her spinning rotors down in a vicious swipe Weiss only just dodged. Before she could get in a counter attack, the girl had zoomed off, up into the air and hovered there looking down at Weiss. With two quick flicks, two rotors were launched at Weiss who neatly dodged and watched them return to the now descending Jade. All Weiss needed was one good hit with Ice Dust and she’d be able to deal with her at her leisure.

“Not bad Schnee, let’s see how you handle this!” The whir of Jade’s rotors grew louder as she stated spinning in mid-air. Weiss could see flashes of Wind Dust as a tornado formed around the girl and was launched directly at Weiss. Again she dodged but instead of carrying on, the tornado halted in its tracks and roared back towards her. Of course the Wind Dust used allowed Jade to control the thing. Darting around, Weiss spared a glance at Pyrrha who was duelling with Cardin and seemed to be keeping him occupied.

Refocusing on her opponent, Weiss saw she was actually fairly stationary as she concentrated on chasing Weiss with the tornado. Taking this as an opportunity, Weiss put a good few feet between herself and the roaring wind and channelled her aura through the Ice Dust in Myrtenaster. Behind Jade, a spinning glyph manifested and launched a spear of ice into the green-haired girl’s back, breaking her concentration and knocking her off balance and to the ground. Without her keeping it manifest, the tornado blew itself out, but Weiss was already running at the downed Jade. Her charge was halted when three rotors were launched at Weiss’ legs, forcing her to leap over them and during a stumble as she landed, the fourth landed a hit, bouncing back towards Jade and sending Weiss sprawling to the ground. Scrambling to her feet as Jade did the same, Weiss heard a familiar whirring and ducked as the three rotors that had missed came whirling back, latching back onto Jade’s armouring and letting her take to the air once again.

Growling in frustration, Weiss launched several more spears of ice, but all were dodged by the nimble aerial fighter. Again, two rotors were hurled at Weiss which she let bounce off a glyph and return to their owner who again had dropped lower. Then it hit her, how could she not have realised it sooner? Using her means of flight as weapons obviously meant she couldn’t attack and manoeuvre at the same time. So that meant…

“Mister Winchester you have been eliminated!” Professor Goodwitch called out, distracting Weiss momentarily. Unfortunately, it seemed Jade had no qualms about taking advantage of such situations and nailed Weiss twice in the chest, knocking the wind out of her. Within seconds, Pyrrha was standing over her with shield out, the rotors slamming into it as she helped Weiss up.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I’ll be a bit bruised later though.” Weiss wheezed, glancing up at her remaining aura and was shocked to find it had only dropped by 10%. She hadn’t actually been in a fight since letting her wings grow back where she could actually see her aura. It was rather heartening to know that she could now take hits that would have completely shattered her aura before. “I have a plan, I need her to throw her rotors again.” Weiss instructed, rolling out from the shield’s protection and neatly dodging a blast of wind.

Jade was now hovering about fifteen feet above the ground, taking advantage of the other two’s relative lack of ranged capabilities and dodging Pyrrha’s gunfire with ease.

“What’s the problem? Can’t hit me?” The green-haired girl taunted, using her Wind Dust to try to blow Pyrrha away, only for the heiress to anchor her with a gravity glyph. Smirking, Jade threw two of her rotors at the now immobile Pyrrha. Her smirk quickly dropped as Weiss dismissed the gravity glyph and summoned one right in front of Pyrrha. On contact with the glyph, the rotors froze over and clattered to the ground uselessly. Now it was Weiss’ turn to smirk as Jade started losing altitude, the two rotors on her feet struggling to keep her aloft.

“Pyrrha, shield up!” Weiss called out to her partner who obeyed instantly, dropping to a crouch and raising her shield over her head. Unable to dodge out of the way, Jade could only watch as Weiss leaped onto the shield and was launched straight at her, blade gleaming as it sliced into her. Ice covered her lower body, freezing up her legs and sending her plummeting to the floor whilst Weiss landed smoothly and watched the impact.

“And that’s the match, excellent division of labour when your opponents and teamwork in taking down Miss Viridia. Perhaps you should maybe try communicating with your partner Mister Winchester, Miss Viridia.” Professor Goodwitch fiddled with her scroll as she assessed the fight. “I’m afraid that’s all we have time for today, you are dismissed.” Slowly, Weiss and Pyrrha started walking out of the arena, discussing the fight.

“You were great out there Pyrrha, thanks for dealing with Cardin.”

“It was nothing, really.” Pyrrha dismissed the praise in her usual humble manner.

“You took him out on your own, I needed help with Jade.” Weiss deflected, already mentally picking apart all the flaws in her handling of the fight.

“It was supposed to be a teamwork exercise Weiss.” Pyrrha pointed out. “Getting help in things was the point, learning how cover each other’s weaknesses. I’m not certain I could’ve taken out Jade if she just stayed airborne the entire time.”

Weiss scoffed at this. “Of course you could’ve, you’re Pyrrha!”

She knew she’d said something wrong as the redhead’s face fell slightly. “Of course I am, I’m Mistral’s shining gladiator after all. Everyone expects great things from me.” Her tone was light but her smile was quite forced.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said-.” The heiress’ apology was cut off by a high-pitched cry.

“Weeeeeiiiiiiissssss!” And Weiss’ breath was knocked out of her as she was sent tumbling to the floor, Ruby landing on top and kissing her ferociously. For a few moments she reciprocated eagerly, then remembered they had an audience.

“Ruby! Pyrrha’s still here!” She hissed, pushing her partner back. Looking up at a very red-faced Pyrrha, Ruby squeaked and jumped to her feet.

“Uh hi Pyrrha, we’re just trying out a new form of greeting to increase the bonds of friendship between partners.” The silence that followed Ruby’s terrible lie was broken by the slap of Weiss’ hand against her face.

“Ruby, could you just wait outside for a few minutes whilst we finish up please?”

“Yeah, I can do that. Sorry Weiss.” Ruby apologised, backing away and vanishing out of the room. Sighing in resignation and mild amusement, Weiss got to her feet, to look at Pyrrha properly.

“I suppose you probably have some questions.” Pyrrha flushed red again as Weiss grinned wryly.

“You and Ruby, you’re _together_ -together?” She eventually managed to ask, Weiss chuckling lightly at her hesitance.

“Nora really has influenced our parlance, hasn’t she? Yes, Ruby and I are dating, sort of, we haven’t actually been on a date yet so the accuracy of the term is somewhat questionable.” Pyrrha looked as though she had other things she wanted to ask, but politeness was holding her back. “Go on, ask away.” Weiss coaxed.

“Are you gay then?” The heiress shrugged.

“I think so? Not entirely sure, it’s actually a relatively recent development.” Weiss considered her next words carefully. “Although looking back, I’m pretty sure I was always attracted to women. You know, I’m pretty sure had a massive crush on you a while back.” If Pyrrha had been taking a drink she would’ve performed a magnificent spit-take. As it was, she instead made a weak strangled noise.

“You had a crush on me?” She finally gasped out.

“I didn’t know it at the time, I sort of hero worshipped you before I came to Beacon. Your fights were some of the only ones I was allowed to watch and when you mentioned in an interview you were planning on attending Beacon, I knew for sure I had to come here as well.” Hindsight was a beautiful thing, there were several interactions with girls before that made so much sense now.

“I’m flattered, I guess. So how do you feel about me now?” Weiss just waved a dismissive hand.

“I got over that rather quickly, and besides, Ruby’s the girl for me. Honestly it was more of a crush on the ideal you presented than you yourself. But I do have to say, I prefer the genuine article to the girl on the pedestal.” She didn’t think it were possible for Pyrrha to blush any harder than she already was, yet somehow she managed it.

“I don’t really know what to say.”

“There’s nothing to be said, but could you please not tell anyone. If it somehow got back to Atlas that I’m dating a woman…” Weiss affected a shudder.

“You have my word.” Pyrrha promised and Weiss broke into a relieved smile.

“Thank you Pyrrha, you’re a good friend, better than I am at least.” Before the redhead could protest this, a mischievous grin wormed its way onto Weiss’ face. “You know, now you really don’t have to worry about me and Jaune.” She shouldn’t feel quite this pleased as Pyrrha turned brick red and hastily excused herself, Yang must be rubbing off on her.

Placing Myrtenaster back in her locker, Weiss departed the changing room to see Ruby leaned up against the wall waiting for her.

“What did you say to Pyrrha? She just came running out.” Ruby asked reproachfully as she walked over.

“I just told her she really didn’t have to worry about me and Jaune anymore.” The heiress answered nonchalantly.

“Weiss, that was mean!” Ruby lightly slapped her girlfriend on the arm.

“What? I wasn’t being mean, if anything I was being helpful, which is the opposite of mean.” Weiss protested, but the impish grin she’d picked up from Ruby said otherwise. “Okay, I’m sorry, forgive me?”

“You don’t’ sound very sorry…” Ruby grumbled as she let Weiss pull her in flush with her.

“Oh? Then maybe this will convince you.” And after a quick check up and down the corridor, she pulled Ruby down into a soft kiss.

“You know, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this.” The brunette murmured as they broke apart.

“Neither will I. Now come on, let’s go to dinner, there’s a teriyaki salmon with my name on it and then afterwards I know for a fact you haven’t finished Professor Peach’s essay that’s due tomorrow.” Weiss pulled away and began to lead the way to dining hall as Ruby whined about assignments. Some things would never change and Weiss wouldn’t have it any other way, everything was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting now 'cause I'm bored and I wanted to show off some of the dumb fluff and generally happy stuff because what I'm currently writing well... Spoilers. Also there will be a few OCs popping up every now and then, they're there for only one purpose really, getting their arses handed to them in the qualifiers for the tournament.
> 
> As always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	38. Chapter 38

“I’m sorry Weiss, I can’t do this anymore. I won’t be your dirty little secret.”

“No, Ruby please. We can be public, I’ll tell father, I’ll do anything, please just don’t leave me!” Weiss sobbed weakly, reaching out for her partner’s hand, only to have it snatched away as Ruby disappeared from the room in a flurry of rose petals. Weiss collapsed to the floor, cocooning herself in her wings and crying.

“I’m surprised you thought I wouldn’t find out.” A booming voice echoed over Weiss and she raised her head to see the towering form of Jacques Schnee standing over her.

“F-Father?” She managed to squeak out, scrambling to her feet. “I can expla-.”

“Explain what? That you’re a filthy bastard that would stoop so low as to sleep with someone of her own sex.” He sneered down at Weiss who cowered back.

“But w-we haven’t done anything like that.” She protested feebly.

“Don’t try to take the high ground with me girl, your kind are all the same, immoral and disgusting animals the lot of you.” He snorted in revulsion, seeming to get taller with every hateful word. “I’m not surprised that girl left you, if you can even call it that…”

“Don’t you dare talk about Ruby like that!” Weiss leapt to her feet, rage burning inside in defence of her girlfriend.

“Oh? And what are you going to do about it?” He grinned menacingly down at her. “You couldn’t even stop it from leaving you, what makes you think you can stand up to me?” She felt herself deflate, the fight draining away.

“I-I…” He was right, how could she stand up to him? She was weak and pathetic; no wonder Ruby had left her.

“That’s what I thought.” Jacques chuckled darkly. “Now, you’re coming back to Atlas with me where you can’t make any more trouble. We’ve developed a procedure that will remove those things permanently.” He gestured down at Weiss’ wings and she gripped them tightly, pulling away in terror but she was immobilised, tied to an operating table.

“No, you can’t, father I beg you, please!” She pleaded as he raised a massive cleaver and swung it down.

“NO!” Weiss catapulted out of bed, wings flapping madly as she toppled out and landed painfully on the floor. Panicking, she checked her wings, thank the gods, they were still intact, she was still whole.

“Urgh, this seems familiar…” A voice groaned from near Weiss’ head and a mane of blonde emerged from the lower bunk. Blake and Yang had taken to sharing a bed a few days prior and although Weiss had asked Blake in private whether their relationship was moving a little fast, the dark-haired girl had reassured her that this was what they were comfortable with.

“It’s nothing Yang, just go back to sleep.” Weiss mumbled, pulling herself up and over to her bed.

“Nuh-uh, you stay right where you are missy.” There was a few moments of shuffling as Yang disentangled herself from her girlfriend without waking her and moved down to sit beside Weiss. “Bad nightmare?” Weiss hesitated, then nodded sitting back down on the floor. “You wanna talk about it?” A shake of the head. “Okay, can I just sit here with you for a while? Make sure you’re okay.” A moment’s pause then Weiss nodded, leaning into Yang’s side.

So the pair of them sat there in silence for a while, Weiss enjoying the tremendous amount of warmth Yang exuded. No wonder Blake was happy to share a bed with her, like having a heated body pillow that hugged you back. Slowly, she let her head rest on Yang’s shoulder and wrapped her wing around her friend.

“Careful Weissy, do things like that and you’ll make Rubes jealous.” The blonde teased lightly. Weiss however just snorted.

“You flatter yourself Xiao Long.” She sighed gently. “Ruby’s the girl for me and I’d never leave her.” She glanced up at the bunk where her girlfriend lay sleeping. A faint worry gnawed at the back of her mind and after another few minutes, she finally gave voice to it. “She left me.” Her words barely a whisper. “I dreamed that she left me and I was alone again.” Weiss could feel her eyes start to sting with tears, filled with guilt that she could think something so horrible about her beloved.

“Oh Weiss…” Yang’s voice was surprisingly gentle and she wrapped an arm around the trembling heiress.

“I know she’d never do something like that to me. But everything’s been so perfect and I feel like it’s all just going to come crumbling down because I don’t deserve to be this happy.” Weiss sniffled and leaned further into Yang’s comforting embrace.

“Hey, you deserve to be happy Weiss. Everyone does, well maybe not Cardin, but in general.” She smirked a little, then her expression became serious again. “You know, I was absolutely terrified to tell Blake I’m asexual. I figured she’d probably want someone who could, ya know, give her what she wanted.” Yang made an unnecessarily crude gesture, much to Weiss’ distaste. “But she didn’t, she still wanted to be with me. I couldn’t believe it.”

“Your point being?” Weiss asked, curious as to where this was going

“I still get insecure about our relationship, feeling like I don’t deserve her or that she’ll leave me for someone or something better. So, ya know, you’re not alone in feeling like this.” Yang shrugged. “I don’t like to talk about my problems, but I figured you’d want to know I can empathise.”

“It doesn’t go away then?” A mournful note entering Weiss’ voice.

“Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. You and Rubes have only been dating for like a week, Blake and I haven’t been together much longer and this is my first serious relationship.” Yang let her head hang back to look at Blake’s sleeping form. “I just have to trust her, it’s really all I can do.” Hearing the pure adoration in Yang’s voice, Weiss knew that, best friend or not, if Blake did anything to break Yang’s heart, Weiss would break _her_. Then she glanced up again at Ruby’s bunk and just listened to her soft snoring, a smile eventually gracing her lips.

“We have it bad, don’t we?” Yang laughed softly and Weiss had to agree with the sentiment.

“Yes we do.” The older girl followed Weiss’ gaze up to their sleeping leader.

“Ya know, no matter how old she gets she’ll always be my kid sister. Seeing you and her together is kinda weird sometimes, I do trust you, but the protective instinct is still there.” Yang sighed softly. “But I’m glad she has you, you’re good for her and her for you.” Looking up at her girlfriend, Weiss felt a pang of jealousy. Was that what it was like to have a sister who actually cared about you? She promptly quashed the feeling, she and Winter had made their choice and no amount of envy was going to change that.

So Weiss and Yang sat there in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, then by some unspoken agreement, they parted. Yang crawling back into bed with Blake and Weiss returning to her own bunk. Slowly, Weiss drifted off into a mercifully dreamless sleep.

* * *

 

“Okay, team! We need to work out our strategy for the tournament.” Ruby announced the next day, startling Weiss out of a reverie. She’d been staring at her scroll for the last ten minutes, contemplating her sister’s contact details as she had done throughout the day. Snapping the device closed, she stood and pulled a book from Blake’s collection.

“I’ve got my notes here.” Weiss extracted the sheets of paper from the copy of ‘Ninjas of Love’ she’d not-so-subtly hidden them in and tossed the book back to a blushing Blake. “I’ve spent time observing the students in sparring practice and compiled a list of those I believe will make it to the final. Unfortunately, due to the staggering of attendee’s arrival it’s not a complete list, but it is comprehensive with regards to Beacon’s students.” Weiss allowed herself a smug grin at how thorough she’d been.

“Yay! Thanks Weiss.” The younger girl cheered and skipped over to plant a kiss on Weiss’ cheek making her blush furiously. Yang meanwhile rolled her eyes and snatched the papers from Weiss’ grip and began reading through them.

“Hey, why’s CRDL not here?” She asked, flipping them over to check if they were double sided. Weiss just gave her a withering look. “Ah, gotcha. Why am I at the top of the list for the finals? I thought it was going to be you.” She looked up at Weiss, perplexed.

“Well, if you read through, I’ve noted that the most likely person to make it into the finals is Pyrrha and you’re best placed to counter that.”

“Yeah but that’s only countering one person, and I’d say your logic on that is faulty but that aside, there’s still another two opponents in the finals.” Blake pointed out, looking over Yang’s shoulder. “What about this Mercury person?”

“Ooh, I know him, he’s from Haven.” Ruby chirped. “I’m friends with his partner, Emerald.”

“And what about him?” Weiss went over what she’d gathered on the boy in her head. He used shotgun greaves which probably had alternate ammo for long range if she was correct in her assumption that they were based on the same design as Yang’s gauntlets and he used an unusual hybrid martial arts style that had a passing resemblance to capoeira.

“He uses a lot of kicks in his style, I’m not good at dealing with that.” Yang pointed out.

“Okay, fine you have a point there.” Weiss grumbled. “But what do you mean my logic is faulty about countering Pyrrha?”

“Weiss, we all know Pyrrha uses her polarity semblance sparingly during sparring, probably to keep it a secret. In the tournament she’s going to go all out and you’re the one least reliant on metal to fight.” Blake explained, still flicking through the notes.

“No I’m not, I’m useless without Myrtenaster.” Weiss protested, she did not like where this was going as Blake gave her a flat look.

“We pay attention Weiss, that jacket you had made with all the dust woven in? We know you’ve been practising enhancing your semblance with Dust through direct aura channelling rather than through your weapon.”

“Well yes… But that doesn’t mean I’m the correct choice, Yang still has more experience than me.”

“Not that much more.” The blonde shot back.

“You’re stronger than me.”

“And as I’ve said, strength only carries you so far, technique is more important.”

“Your semblance is better suited to one-on-one combat.”

“As well as giving me the requisite anger management issue that makes me too volatile to be reliable.” Every argument Weiss could come up with was being immediately countered by Yang so she hung her head in defeat.

“I’m not getting out of this am I?”

“Nope! All in favour of Weiss going to the finals say ‘aye’!” Ruby raised her hand in affirmation and Blake and Yang both agreed.

“Fine, I’ll do it I guess. But you’re coming with me to the doubles round Yang.” Weiss laid down her ultimatum to giggling from the others.

“Whatever you say ice queen.” The blonde smirked, very pleased with her victory.

“So it’s settled then, Yang and Weiss are competing in the doubles and Weiss in the finals.” Ruby scrawled on the tournament sign-up sheet, the ordering predetermined before the event to deter more direct counter picking. “Okay, next we’ll need to sort out extra training, especially for you two.” She indicated the doubles pair. “You haven’t really worked together much in training so that needs work. I’ve already devised a preliminary plan.” Ruby withdrew a colour-coded grid, presumably made with more of Weiss’ stolen stationery supplies, and handed it to Yang for inspection.

“Uh, Ruby, you seem to have put yourself down for a lot of extra training, like way more than even Weiss.” Peering over Yang’s shoulder, she could see it was indeed true.

“Oh, did I? My bad…” Once again Ruby proved why she was the best of them by being an awful liar.

“Ruby… We’ve been over this already.” Reproach and concern edging Yang’s voice.

“But-.”

“No buts, I’ll look through this and see what needs changing.” Yang ordered, taking the schedule and placing it with her own notes.

"Fine." Ruby sulked, crossing her arms and trying to look annoyed which in Weiss’ eyes failed due to her being unspeakably adorable when she pouted.

“Great, is there anything else we need to discuss?” Yang addressed the room, when no-one answered she clapped her hands. “Great, in that case I have an assignment to finish, coming Blakey?” The cat Faunus nodded and rose to follow her girlfriend, leaving Ruby and Weiss alone.

“So… what should we do now?” The white-haired girl asked, she knew what she wanted but Ruby didn’t seem in the mood for kissing, since she still looked annoyed.

“Whatever you want I guess...” Ruby grumbled, pulling out her scroll and fiddling with it. If Weiss had hated seeing Ruby upset before, now they were together-together, the mere thought of it was abhorrent. Only she didn’t know how to cheer her up this time, cookies normally worked but that didn’t seem like the best of ideas if she was upset about being not allowed to exercise. Then an idea popped into her head, one that would solve two problems at once.

“Ruby, I’ve been thinking, about us not being public. It’s just you’ve been so understanding about it, I want to do something for you. Whatever you want to do.” Ruby looked at her uneasily.

"I told you I'm fine with it, you don't need to make grand gestures for me." Weiss was not going to take that as an answer.

"Ruby, I want to do this for you. So please, anything you want I'll do.” Seeing Weiss wasn't going to budge on this, Ruby thought for a moment. Then a wide grin spread across her face, eerily similar to Yang’s smile whenever she was up to mischief.

"Actually, there is something I'd like us to do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder what Ruby has in store for them, hopefully nothing that ends in tears. Poor Weiss can't catch a break sometimes, not even from herself. In other news, well a good news bad news type situation. The bad news is that a couple of chapters down the line may be delayed because I got a new laptop whose keyboard broke and it is a nightmare to type using a pen and touch keyboard. I've got everything planned, just the act of getting the words out is something of a bottleneck and I can't get a new keyboard for another week or so.  
> The good news is that getting a new laptop means I had to do something of a clear out of accounts and things and I found I have a tumblr, so that's neat. I've spruced it up a bit, though it's still kinda bare and I'm hoping to have a bit more of an online presence through that. So go there and ask whatever takes your fancy, fic-related or not, it's @apatheticabstractapotheosis, bit of a mouthful but it's keeping consistency.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	39. Chapter 39

“Why did I agree to this?” Weiss moaned, tugging at the too short skirt. It had been a few months since she’d worn any and it turned out she did not miss them.

“Because you love me!” Ruby crowed gleefully, spinning to look back at Weiss from where she was skipping ahead down the high street. When she’d asked what she could do for Ruby to make up for not being public with their relationship, she had not expected being asked to dress up as Ebony again, nor had she anticipated the purpose of this request. Yet here they were in the middle of Vale, on an honest to the gods date.

“That may be so but did I have to wear this skirt?” Ruby had claimed full control of Weiss’ outfit for the date and had dressed her in a plain white blouse and a pleated black skirt that Weiss thought should be hanging just above her knees but instead the hemline was around mid-thigh. Completing the outfit were a pair of patent leather shoes and knee-high socks as well as the sunglasses she’d worn before. Not to mention both her dyed black hair and wings were loose.

“Not really, I just thought you’d look cute in it.” Ruby beamed, her eyes travelling over Weiss’ exposed legs, making the heiress blush. The brunette on the other hand was wearing a sleeveless version of her many combat skirted dresses, complete with the tulle petticoat. She’d foregone her corset this time though, opting instead for a wide red belt and ditched her tights and boots for a pair of low kitten heels she was still struggling with slightly. And of course, her customary hooded cloak which fluttered behind her as she skipped along.

Weiss wasn’t entirely sure where they were going as Ruby led the way along the street, the only information she’d been given was to not have lunch. She wasn’t really paying much attention to their course either, too busy keeping a wary eye on all the passers-by. She had the distinct disquieting feeling that she was being watched, but she brushed it off as just her getting the stink-eye from people they passed. It wasn’t quite as bad as Beacon had been, fewer catcalls, but more people would cross the street when they saw Weiss approaching. Not to mention the muttered insults about Ruby whenever the younger girl grabbed onto Weiss in excitement, or latched onto her arm or was just generally affectionate.

Weiss absolutely hated that they would insult her Ruby. Weiss was used to insults, it was nothing worse than she’d called herself in the past, but she could tell they were getting to Ruby a little. Every time someone deliberately shoulder checked her with a muttered ‘animal lover’ or an even worse epithet, Ruby’s sunny smile would dim for a moment before returning not quite as bright as before.

Just after Blake and Yang had started going out, she’d asked Blake in private about Human-Faunus relationships, purely academic interest she’d tried to assure herself at the time. The answer she got did not exactly inspire hope. Apparently, most Humans disapproved of the idea. Marriage between Human and Faunus wasn’t illegal in most of Remnant, Atlas being the exception, but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone willing to perform the ceremony.

Things didn’t seem much better from the Faunus side either, many older Faunus disapproving, reasoning they needed to preserve the traditions that Humanity had been trying to stamp out for generations. And perhaps even more extreme than the Humans’ response, The White Fang openly despised any Faunus who took a Human as a partner.

Blake had admitted to being guilty of harassing mixed couples, painting graffiti and other acts of vandalism. Once, a group of White Fang she’d worked with had beaten a Faunus woman half to death for bearing a Human’s child, one of many incidents that incited her to leave.

“We’re here!” Ruby’s exclamation broke Weiss out of her less than happy thoughts, curious she looked up at the building they were stopped in front of and her mouth began to water. It was a sushi restaurant, Ruby had brought her out for sushi. Weiss could feel a joyous squeal building inside her, but instead settled for giving Ruby a peck on the cheek.

“You’re the best girlfriend ever.” She murmured softly in the brunette’s ear, making her blush dreadfully.

“I think that position belongs to you.” Ruby smiled back, before taking Weiss’ hand and leading them inside. As they went, Weiss noticed a small card propped up in the window, ‘Faunus Welcome’. The interior of the restaurant was sleek and modern, ambient lighting and furniture. There were a few other patrons and Weiss spent a while people watching as Ruby spoke to the hostess. She hated to stereotype, but there were quite a few feline Faunus present, evident by the ears on display and the occasional swishing tail.

“Come on Ebony, they’re seating us.” The pair followed the hostess towards the back of the establishment and were seated in a cosy booth.

“Would you like anything to drink?” the lady who’d brought them to their table asked, setting a menu in front of each of them.

“Could I just get some water please.” Weiss requested, not bothering with the accent she’d used with Sun and Neptune, opening up the menu and perusing the sashimi selection.

“Do you have milk?” Weiss stifled a groan, of course dear, sweet Ruby would ask for something like milk.

“Er, sorry no we don’t. We do have soy milk though.” The hostess suggested.

“Okay, that sounds good.” Ruby smiled, happy her request was somewhat fulfilled.

“One water and one soy milk, I’ll have those brought to you in a bit.” And the pair were left alone to decide on their food.

“This is wonderful Ruby; how did you know I’d enjoy this?” Weiss asked, focusing on her partner having already decided on her meal.

“I asked Blake for good date ideas and she said she and Yang came here before they started dating and that it was a great restaurant and that you love sushi.” Ruby explained, flipping through her menu.

“Well she was certainly right.” Weiss’ wings fluttered in contentment as she gazed across at her girlfriend, she really was too good to her. Even with Weiss’ stipulations about how public their relationship could be, Ruby had still managed to find a way for them to go on a date together. Soon after, a waitress came with their drinks and set them down on the table.

“Are you ready to order?” Weiss looked to Ruby who nodded.

“Yes please, could I get the tamago nigiri set and a bowl of miso soup please. Oh and a mixed set for us to share as well please.” The waitress dutifully noted down the order before turning to Weiss.

“I’d like the sake sashimi please and a bowl of miso for me as well thank you.” Weiss handed over her menu to the waitress who took it and smiled.

“I’ll have your food shortly.” And she slipped away, once again leaving Weiss and Ruby to make small talk. An awkward silence fell between the two, both at a loss for what to say.

“You know, Blake’s books make this seem so easy.” Ruby joked weakly, drawing a light chuckle from her partner.

“Yes, well I hope small talk is all you’re using Blake’s books as a guide for.” Weiss fired back, quickly suppressing the images evoked by ‘Ninjas of Love’ vol. 4, particularly the scene with the yuki-onna and the young shinigami. “I imagine in most cases dates are supposed to be a way of getting to know a person.” Ruby nodded in agreement.

“But we’ve known each other for months now.”

“Precisely and unfortunately I’m at a loss for topics for discussion.” Weiss hummed in thought for a moment, drumming her fingers against the table. “I imagine talking about school is taboo.” Ruby’s grimace confirmed this for her. “And I’m rather disinclined to talk about our preparations for the tournament.” She fell silent once again, considering. Then an idea came to her.

“You know, there is something you haven’t really told me much about, your home on Patch.” Ruby cocked her head in bemusement. “What’s it like there? What was it like growing up?”

“Oh, well we lived in the forest, not like that!” The brunette sniffed at Weiss’ raised eyebrow. “We lived in a house obviously, a big wooden cabin dad says he built on his own, but I know Uncle Qrow helped him with it.” Ruby snickered at the memory. “There’s no really much else on the island, just the one town and Signal Academy, lots of forest and stuff, really natural ya know?” Weiss nodded.

“It sounds lovely, I never really saw much of nature, just the courtyards of the manor, if you can really call a few frozen bushes ‘nature’.”

“Is Atlas really that cold all year round? I mean Patch can get pretty cold in winter and we’d even get snow some years.”

“You’d never survive an Atlesian winter then, the temperature outside never gets above freezing for the entire season.” Weiss remembered the time she’d accidentally left a glass of water by her window before going to bed, only to find it frozen solid by morning.

“You know, speaking of Winter…” Wait, no Ruby, don’t you dare pull the worst segue ever. “You haven’t talked to her yet have you?”

“Ruby, please don’t bring this up, we’re having a lovely time and I don’t want talk of my erstwhile sister to ruin it.”

“Weiss, I saw you yesterday on your scroll just staring at her contact, why are you being so stubborn about this?” The brunette cocked her head and unwittingly or not, gave Weiss her puppy-dog eyes. If Weiss couldn’t resist them before, she had absolutely no chance now.

“Ugh, fine. It’s not that I don’t want to call her but it’s really hard. I’ve left it for so long it’s easier just leave it. Not to mention I said some not-so nice things to her and I don’t know whether she’ll forgive me for that.” Somewhere along the way, Weiss’ exasperation at her girlfriend’s insistence morphed into something regretful.

“You’ve forgiven her for what she did, or didn’t I guess, right?”

“I suppose…” Forgiveness was a tricky thing for Weiss, she’d never had to before outside of the perfunctory ‘I forgive you for ruining my doll’ you would say as a child. She wasn’t angry with Winter any more and in fact understood why she’d done what she had, but was it really forgiveness if the pain of the betrayal was still there?

“Then how about this, we take some time to give your sister a call, both of us. I can be there for moral support.” Ruby suggested, reaching out to lay a hand on Weiss’ own. “We don’t have to if you don’t want, but I want you to be happy and this thing with Winter isn’t helping that.” Weiss smiled in return and turned her hand over to grip Ruby’s.

“Okay, I think I can do that.” Ruby’s grin grew blinding and she looked like she was about to throw herself over the table to embrace Weiss but was prevented from doing so by the arrival of their food.

The pair ate in companionable silence, occasionally broken by one of them commenting on how good the food was or to feed the other a morsel from their own plate.

“I’ll be honest, I never took you for the sort of person who used chopsticks.” Weiss admitted as she watched Ruby dextrously pop a roll into her mouth.

“Of courshe I can.” She mumbled around a mouthful of rice which she swallowed down quickly at Weiss’ baleful look. “Dad would be super disappointed if Yang and I couldn’t use them. He’s really big on Mistralian cuisine and insisted we eat it ‘properly’.”

“I suppose he’s the one who taught Yang how to cook.”

“Yep! Tried to teach me too but he stopped after I set fire to the water trying to make instant noodles.” Weiss opened her mouth to ask how she managed to do something like that, and then shut it again, some things were best left unknown.

“Well you certainly have more experience than I do. I never even set foot in the manor’s kitchen, meals were served in the dining hall and if I was hungry outside of mealtimes one of the servants would bring me food.”

“Did you have a cake butler?” Ruby eyes were wide and her voice an awed whisper. Weiss just looked confused.

“Um, no? What even is a cake butler?”

“A butler who brings you cake, duh.” The brunette chirped cheerfully.

“That’s… not a thing.” Ruby’s face fell. “If I wanted cake, Klein would bring some, no need for a separate butler just for cake.”

“Aww…” The younger girl moan in disappointment. “I thought it’d be cool ‘cause then I could get a cookie butler.” Weiss just smiled in indulgent exasperation at her partner’s childish love for the baked confections.

All too soon, their plates were clear and the waitress came to collect them. “Would you like some dessert?”

Weiss looked to Ruby in deference and the younger girl took it upon herself to answer. “No thank you, could we just get the bill please.” The waitress nodded and swept away.

“I never thought I’d see the day, Ruby Rose turning down dessert.” Weiss teased lightly.

“Hey, I don’t always have to eat pudding.” Ruby pouted adorably as the waitress returned with the bill.

“I’ll get it!” Both girls said, reaching for the small clipboard.

“What, no Ruby I’m rich I’ve got it.” Weiss insisted, trying to bat her partner’s hand away.

“I invited you, so I pay.” Ruby scrabbled at the bill, trying to pull it out of Weiss’ reach.

“Which is why the least I can do is pay.” The heiress tugged back whilst fishing around in her pocket for some lien.

“Um, might I make a suggestion?” The waitress spoke up timidly.

“Yes?” Weiss’ voice was clipped as she continued to struggle with her girlfriend over the piece of paper.

“You could always split the bill.” The red and not-so-white at the moment pair froze.

“Oh, yeah that’s a thing isn’t it?” Ruby sounded as embarrassed as Weiss felt, the blush creeping up her cheeks.

“Yes, so split it 50/50 then?” Ruby nodded in agreement and fished out a card whilst Weiss did the same and handed them to the waitress who breathed a sigh of relief and scurried off before they could change their minds.

“Well, we could’ve handled that better.” Ruby murmured sheepishly.

“Agreed, let’s never speak of this again, your sister would have a field day.” The brunette nodded in agreement as the waitress returned with their cards and receipts that were swiftly tucked away and the couple departed the restaurant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another early chapter! I'm considering switching back to Thursday postings but we'll see how I feel next week and beyond. In the meantime Ebony makes a return and there's a cute date with minimal angst, what could possibly go wrong? In other bits, in case you didn't see on Monday I have tumblr now, sort of, technically had it for ages, just never did anything with it. It's @apatheticabstractapotheosis, maybe I should put the link in that bit of the notes that always appears at the end of the work for some reason, it was supposed to be the notes for chapter one only. So feel free to drop by the rather empty page, I'm probably tumblring wrong but never mind!
> 
> As always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I feel the need to include a note at the start. There's assault in this chapter that goes beyond the 'canon-typical violence' due to it being racially motivated i.e. a hate crime. If you don't want to read that, then maybe skip this chapter.

“That was a lovely meal Ruby.” Weiss assured her partner as they stepped out into the afternoon light. “Thank you for bringing me here.” Glancing about to make sure there weren’t many people around, Weiss raised herself up to plant a kiss on Ruby’s cheek, making her squeak in surprise and turn a lovely cherry red.

“Y-You’re welcome.” She squeaked before smiling down at Weiss and intertwining her fingers with the heiress’ and leading the way. “Was there anything else you wanted to do whilst we’re in town?”

“I do need to pick up some more stationery because _someone_ used up all my highlighters and tape.” Ruby looked rather sheepish, free hand moving up to rub at the back of her head.

“Ha ha, yeah. Sorry Weiss, but they’re really pretty and you have the best school supplies.”

“Of course I do.” Weiss scoffed. “Better quality saves more money in the long run than buying something cheap now, one of the first things I learned about saving money.” Weiss grimaced at the memory, most of her education had been delegated to various tutors, but Jacques Schnee taught her business personally.

“Did your father teach you that?” Ruby asked quietly.

“Please, don’t call him my father.” The heiress intoned. “He didn’t sire me, nor did he fulfil any of the criteria a parent should when I was growing up.” She sighed heavily. “But yes, he did teach me that, alongside several other lessons of increasingly dubious morality.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through stuff like that.” Weiss waved off the sympathy.

“It doesn’t matter now, it’s in the past. Besides, I’d go through it all again a thousand times over if it meant I could be with you.” She chuckled lightly as Ruby flushed deeply and stuttered out a few incomplete sentences. “Enough about that though, is there anywhere you wanted to go?”

After a few minutes, the brunette was finally able to form a complete sentence, though her cheeks were still tinted an adorable pink. “I did want to visit the weapons shop, I’m running low on gravity rounds and machine oil.”

“Okay then!” And with soft squeak of surprise, Weiss intertwined her fingers with Ruby’s and led the way to the weapons store. Ruby’s favoured store was a few blocks away, in the heart of Vale’s commercial district. Of course that meant more people to glare at the couple as they navigated the way to the store. Just like before the restaurant, Weiss felt the uncomfortable sensation of someone staring at her. Again she brushed it off as another case of an overly interested passer-by, though she stayed more alert as they approached the shop.

Opening the door set a little bell ringing and drew the attention of the man behind the counter who looked up cheerfully at the new customers. “Hello, and welcome to-.” His smile dropped as he focused on Weiss, hardening into a frown. “You’d better leave. We don’t serve _your_ kind here.”

His frosty tone was almost a match for Weiss’ when she went ‘ice queen’ on people. “Excuse me?” They’d caught the attention of some of the other patrons of the store now, listening in on the altercation.

“You heard me, get out.” The owner snapped, pointing at a suspiciously prominent sign reading: ‘We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone’.

“My lien is as good as anyone else’s.” Weiss spat, ignoring Ruby’s insistent tugging on her sleeve or whispered words to leave it.

“Bet you stole it!” One of the other customers shouted. “You Faunus are all the same, dirty thieving lowlifes.” Weiss wished she could tell the man exactly who she was, that she could buy the entire store and it would make barely a dent in her finances. But instead she held her tongue.

“Yeah, no-one wants you here.” Another customer chipped in, eyes sparkling with malice as Weiss quivered with rage at the chorus of agreement from everyone else.

“Ebony, come on. It’s not worth it.” Reluctantly, Weiss headed to the door to the irritatingly vocal approval of the other customers.

“Miss, you don’t have to go, _you’re_ welcome here, we’ve got great discounts for hunters-in-training.” The shopkeep tried to entice Ruby back, only for her to turn on him in anger, eyes burning silver.

“First off: I’m a _huntress_ and second: if you really think I’m going to shop here after the way you just treated my girlfriend, you’re even dumber than you look!” And with that, she grabbed Weiss’ hand and marched right out the store. Once they were several stores away, Ruby slowed her pace.

“I’m so sorry that happened Ebony. Ugh, I’m never shopping there again.” Ruby griped.

“It’s not your fault.” Weiss tried to reassure her girlfriend. “But would you mind if we just went back to Beacon now? That left a bad taste in my mouth.” Ruby nodded in agreement and the pair of them started back towards the airdock.

“You know, it may not have been the best circumstances, but I’ll never get tired of you calling me your girlfriend.” Ruby blushed furiously at Weiss’ admission as the heiress gently latched onto her arm.

As they approached the city centre, again, Weiss could feel the hairs on the back of her neck prickling, someone was definitely watching her just like before they went into the weapons shop. Once was a coincidence, twice was not and her huntress instincts were rarely wrong.

“Ruby!” She hissed urgently. “Someone’s watching us, I don’t know where.” She glanced around surreptitiously, thankful that the sunglasses hid her rapidly flickering eyes. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, just the usual pedestrians going about their business, giving the pair of them a wide berth.

“I don’t see anything.” Ruby’s voice carried a faint worry as she too looked around discreetly.

“Is there a faster way back to the airdock?” Weiss wanted out of this as soon as possible, back to Beacon where it was safe.

“If we cut through the alley up ahead, but I don’t think that’s a good idea…” Ruby protests were taken under consideration as Weiss took the lead, tugging her partner after her and into the alley.

The alley was empty and smelled of a mix of unpleasant aromas, still Weiss pressed on, trying not to breathe too deeply. They made it halfway to the exit when a voice called out from where they came from.

“Well, well, well. Looks like little Miss Rose got herself a pet.” The pair froze and turned to look at who’d called out to them. Dressed in street clothes and arrayed menacingly at the entrance to the alleyway stood Team CRDL, Cardin at the front having been the one to shout.

“Don’t you call her that!” Ruby shrieked at the bully, taking a step forward in front of Weiss.

“Aww look at that, she wants to protect the beast.” Cardin mocked, drawing chuckles from his sycophantic team. “Now see, we only wanted to have a chat with your pet there. We want to teach her a little lesson about getting ideas above her station.” He cracked his knuckles menacingly and Ruby and Weiss both took a step back. Slowly, the boys started to advance on them.

“Run!” Weiss yelled and took off, Ruby just behind her. They all but flew down the alley, the end was just in sight when there was a shriek of pain from behind her. Weiss skidded to a halt and turned to see Ruby on the floor, clutching her ankle. Panicking, Weiss ran back and tried to pull Ruby to her feet. The moment she put her weight on her ankle, Ruby screamed in pain again.

“Just run, they want you not me.” Ruby begged leaning heavily on Weiss as they heard CRDL approaching fast.

“I’m not leaving you.” Weiss insisted, pulling Ruby up and looping her arms around her she tried to drag the injured girl with her. If they could make it out into the main street, then CRDL couldn’t attack them, even if people were apathetic to the Faunus plight and actively avoided them, four boys beating a defenceless girl would look very bad.

They were almost there, just another few feet when Ruby shrieked and Weiss whirled to see Cardin had grabbed a hold of her hood and tugged her from Weiss’ grip.

“Hold her!” He barked at one of his team, roughly shoving Ruby away as he and the other two advanced on Weiss.

“L-Let her go.” She couldn’t keep the tremble out of her voice as she faced down the three. She was unarmed and had no Dust on her, she couldn’t use her semblance either or she’d be exposed.

“Nah, I think she should watch.” Cardin chuckled darkly, still advancing. She should run, get help but who knew what they’d do to Ruby if she did that. So Weiss settled into a guard stance waiting for the first attack.

“Ha, this animal thinks she can fight back. Well you’re welcome to try.” Cardin’s fist blurred towards Weiss’ face and she neatly dodged, right into Dove’s fist which slammed into her side, winding her. Lashing out with a punch that hit nothing but air a sharp pain exploded in her leg as Russel slammed a vicious kick into it dropping Weiss to a knee. Her aura was holding up, but the impacts still hurt.

“So, you have some aura huh? Well we’ll just have to break it then.” He grinned evilly and lashed out with a kick aimed right at Weiss’ jaw but Weiss was just able to bring her wing up to block the blow. Weiss felt the force of the kick reverberate through her body as she flexed the wing to throw Cardin off balance. Pressing the advantage, she rose up from the crouch, slamming the top of her head into Cardin’s chin.

“Argh, you bitch!” He yelped in pain, reeling back and spitting blood from his mouth. Weiss didn’t have time to celebrate her victory and two pairs of arms wrapped themselves around her wings and arms holding her and leaving her centre unprotected. She’d forgotten the other two were still there, Weiss struggled, trying to wriggle out of their grip but it was no use. She was caught. Looking up, she saw Ruby, face a teary mess as she was held in a full nelson before her view was obscured by Cardin and his bloodstained grin.

“You’ll pay for that.” He snarled and a punch rocketed into Weiss’ gut. She retched, pain blooming from the point of impact. She didn’t scream though, she wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.

“Let her go! Please!” Ruby begged between sobs as punch after punch sank into Weiss’ stomach.

“Not. Until. This. Animal. Learns. Its. Place.” Each word was punctuated with another blow, the final one landing on her face, snapping it to one side and smashing her sunglasses. She was exhausted, shaking, pain wracked her entire body, her arms and wings ached from being held up for so long.

“Please! I’ll do anything!” That caught Cardin’s attention, he paused in his assault and turned to face Ruby.

“Anything, you say?” His voice took on a slimy quality, one that made Weiss’ stomach turn and Ruby looked equally queasy as he approached her. “Well I might be persuaded to leave the animal alone if you could do something for me.”

“W-What do you mean? What do you want me to do?” Ruby was visibly trembling as Cardin loomed over her.

“Details, details we’ll sort that out soon enough.” Weiss couldn’t see his face, but she could hear the smile in his words. That was too far, Ruby was not going to sacrifice herself for Weiss and nobody was going to harm a single hair on Ruby’s head.

“Leave her alone.” She growled out, voice rough and angry but it drew Cardin’s attention

“What was that? The smug, worthless excuse for a Human bent down and cocked an ear at Weiss whose head was hung low, anything else was too painful.

“I said: leave her alone.” Weiss could feel something, probably rage, burning in her chest, spreading slowly throughout her.

“Or what? You pathetic wretch.” Cardin sneered down at Weiss, ignorant of the whitish glow emanating from behind her. Not that Weiss noticed either, too focused on her fury, the tingling just behind her eyes and the blood rushing in her ears as she snapped her head up to stare him dead in the eyes.

“Or I’ll make you.” He actually stumbled back a bit and she heard Ruby gasp. Then, a low, familiar growl rumbled from behind her and the hands holding her up suddenly released, dropping her to the floor. Weiss looked up to see the two holding were backing away from her and the heavy footfalls that stepped over her prone form.

A glowing white and blue Beowulf stalked towards the now terrified tormentors. “We can take it right?” Dove stammered, still backing away as Weiss staggered to her feet. As if to disprove this notion, the Beowulf let out an ear-splitting howl that reverberated around the alley and lunged at Cardin, batting him aside and slamming him into a wall.

“Let her go.” When Sky failed to move, probably too scared to, the summon took another menacing step forward. “Now!” The terrified boy promptly dropped Ruby’s arms, taking off down the alley closely followed by his teammates and a limping Cardin. Weiss stayed standing until they were out of sight, then she collapsed against the wall, trembling and breathing heavily.

“Weiss! Are you okay? What is that?” Ruby seemed torn between helping her girlfriend and gawking at the Beowulf which had backed down and returned to Weiss’ side.

“I’m fine.” The heiress rasped out, lying through her teeth. “But please don’t shout, people might hear. And it’s a summon, it’s side-effect of the Schnee semblance. But I’ve never been able to do it before.” Carefully she raised a hand to touch the Beowulf’s muzzle, but the moment her hand made contact it dissolved into motes of light which winked out of existence. Another wave of pain seared through Weiss and she staggered a little, Ruby rushing to her side to support her.

“I’ve got you.” She reassured her partner, helping her limp to the end of the alley. “Let’s get back to the academy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was not a fun chapter, I spent ages working on various drafts, trying to find the right point before the attack started to become gratuitous and unnecessary. I'm not sure whether I should change the rating, because this is as bad as it's going to get on the racism stuff, I refuse to write anything worse. Oftentimes I feel like a terrible person for putting these characters through such awful situations and I wasn't originally planning on including a lot of Faunus racism stuff. But here we are nonetheless and sadly things aren't going to get much better with vol. 3 on the horizon.
> 
> As always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	41. Chapter 41

“They did what!?”

The rest of Team RWBY winced at Yang’s shout. The other pair hadn’t been in the room when Weiss and Ruby had returned and the heiress had hoped she’d be fully healed by the time they got back. Sadly for her, the black and yellow pair entered the room to find a freshly showered Weiss and Ruby applying witch hazel to a magnificent black eye that was beginning to form, forcing them to explain what had happened to them to the increasing horror and rage of the older pair.

“Forget breaking their legs, I’m gonna snap their scrawny necks.” Weiss couldn’t help but agree with Yang’s sentiment, a dark desire for vengeance crossing her thoughts. It was quickly subsumed however by a wave of fear and unease, she’d never heard Yang this angry before and it was bringing back some very unpleasant memories. Blake too seemed particularly affected by her girlfriend’s rage, curling up on her bunk with her ears folded back.

Yang, you can’t do that.” Ruby tried to reprimand her sister, but she was having none of it.

“Just watch me.” Yang made for the door but her progress was stymied by Ruby wrapping herself around her middle and holding her back.

“Why are you doing this?” She wailed as Yang continued mostly unimpeded, the temperature in the room rising steadily.

“They beat the crap out of Weiss and made you watch. Nobody hurts any of my family and gets away with it.” Weiss would’ve been touched that Yang thought of her as family, if she wasn’t currently frozen in fear of the blonde’s explosive temper, an instinct in direct competition with her quite literal flight response. Blake was in a similar state of distress, having abandoned any pretence of normalcy and hiding behind her bed, eyes fixed on the arguing sisters.

“Yang, please stop! You’re scaring Blake and Weiss.” These words finally had an impact on Yang and she whirled around to see the frozen Weiss and hidden Blake.

She stopped trying for the door, squirming out of her sister’s hold and made to run over to Blake, only for the dark-haired girl to shy away, eyes wide with fear. Yang halted in her tracks and sank to the floor, cradling her head in her hands, a soft litany of curses emerging from the curtain of hair covering her face. Ruby was torn between comforting her sister or her girlfriend. Weiss broke the stalemate by gesturing at Yang, giving Ruby the leave to wrap her sister in a bear hug.

“I did it again.” A mournful whisper emanated from the hunched over blonde.

“No-one got hurt this time, it’s okay.” Ruby tried to reassure her.

“Didn’t they?” Yang raised her head to look over at Blake’s hiding space where she sat motionless, still staring at her. Again she moved towards her girlfriend, but once again Blake shied away, less so this time however.

“I’ll do it.” Ruby reassured her sister, rising and slowly approaching the wary cat Faunus. “Hey, Blake, it’s okay, Yang’s not angry any more.” Weiss wasn’t sure she should be offended on Blake’s behalf or not because the way Ruby was trying to coax her out of hiding sounded an awful lot like how you’d deal with a frightened kitten. Slowly, Blake crawled back onto her bed, eyeing Yang warily as the blonde focused on her.

“Blake, Weiss I am so sorry you had to see that.” She apologised, looking between the still slightly spooked pair.

“Yang, what was that?” Weiss was eventually able to ask, sliding over to her girlfriend for comfort.

“I-I used to have a really bad anger management problem when I was younger. I’d get into fights with other kids over the stupidest things and sometimes they’d get hurt, badly.” Yang looked guiltier than ever as she continued. “It’s partly why I started therapy, lots of reasons why I went really, but I don’t want to go into them. I thought I had it under control, not gone, but manageable, I let my emotions run pretty close to the surface. But I haven’t actually wanted to hurt someone like that for a long time.” As Yang hung her head, Blake carefully uncurled from herself and moved a bit closer to her partner.

“I don’t like getting angry, it’s like I become a different person and I hate who she is.” Yang’s body was shaking intermittently and there was an occasional sob. “I’m sorry I scared you.” There was silence for a few minutes, broken only by occasional breathy sobs from Yang. Finally, Blake slid off her bed and over to her girlfriend, nuzzling into her side.

“We need to talk about this later.” She murmured softly. “But right now we need to sort out what we’re doing about Cardin and his lackeys.”

“We can’t just let them get away with it.” Yang agreed, looking up at the others. “I doubt the police will do anything without testimony from Weiss herself so that’s out.”

“Not to mention their abysmal treatment of Faunus, low closure rate for hate-crimes and the department has a habit of rejecting any Faunus applicants, for some reason.” There was no mistaking the bitter sarcasm in Blake’s voice and Weiss had a shrewd suspicion Blake had personal experience with the matter. One thing didn’t quite sit right though.

“Then how come Sun was able to become a junior detective then?” Weiss asked, it wasn’t as though Sun was particularly subtle about, well anything really.

“Good publicity.” Blake rolled her eyes. “He’s a good friend but he doesn’t get politics sometimes. After the assignment was over he was bragging about all the interviews he did on the job and how famous he was going to be.” She sighed in irritation. “Vale PD get to look nice and progressive showing off one of the ‘good’ Faunus who doesn’t make trouble. But we’re getting off-topic. Since the police are out, what else can we do?”

“Um, we could go to Professor Ozpin.” Ruby suggested nervously. “We tell him I was witness to the attack, he’d accept that.”

“Then what Ruby? When he punishes them they’ll know one of us was responsible and then they’ll come after you.” Weiss stated dejectedly, dropping onto her bunk. “I won’t let you get hurt because of me any more.”

Ruby let out a sad whine and darted over to comfort Weiss. “I know it’s scary, but we have to do something, think what would happen if they weren’t punished and they attack someone who can’t defend themselves.”

“You girls couldn’t defend yourselves.” Yang interjected. “It sounds like you only got away thanks to dumb luck.”

Ruby nodded in agreement though her voice wavered a little. “See Weiss, we got lucky, someone else might not. That’s why we have to do this, even if we might get hurt, it’s the right thing to do.” Weiss sighed deeply at her partner’s words, of course the ever-optimistic Ruby would see it as a noble deed without regard for her own safety. She was torn between wanting to see CRDL punished and desperately wanting to keep Ruby safe.

Then an idea sparked in Weiss’ mind, it was a terrible idea and one she may regret, but if it kept her girlfriend out of harm’s way _and_ dealt with Cardin and his lackeys then she’d take it.

“I’ll tell Ozpin.” She announced to the room, standing up. “I’ll tell him I was on my own, that way when he conveys the incident to CRDL you’ll be kept out of it and they’ll know it wasn’t you.” Yang gave her a puzzled and concerned look.

“But that would mean you’d be telling Ozpin you’re a Faunus.”

“Yes, yes it would.” Weiss confirmed striding over to the coat stand and tried to decide which jacket to wear.

“No Weiss, you don’t have to do this.” Ruby implored, getting up as well and resting a hand on Weiss’ arm.

“Yes I do. I’d do anything to protect you.” The heiress stated firmly, selecting her Dust-infused jacket and pulling it on.

“But even if you do leave Ruby out, they might still go after her because you’re together. Yang pointed out.

“Yes, I know that, but I’m not hearing any better ideas.” Weiss snapped back. “I’m making the best of a bad situation okay?” She sighed deeply, turning to face Ruby and the others properly. “I don’t like it at all. But this is my decision to make.

“No, Weiss I’m coming with you, we’ll do this together.” Ruby insisted, latching onto Weiss’ arm properly.

“You know this is all being blown way out of proportion right?” Blake asked, standing up and walking over to her desk, picking up her bow whilst looking at the couple. “This really is nothing more than us reporting a hate-crime. Admittedly, a report that will actually have an impact, but not worth all this.”

“Yeah, well have you ever known us to not go big with stuff Blakey?” Yang drawled, still laid out on the floor.

“I suppose not.” She sighed, tying the ribbon up over her ears. “But that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing.” She gave Yang a pointed look under which the blonde squirmed nervously. “Anyway, let’s go tell Ozpin. All of us.” She silenced Weiss’ unstated complaint and led the way out of the room, Ruby trailing with Weiss and Yang taking up the rear, grouping up in a protective formation around Weiss which she would never admit to feeling more than a little bit grateful for.

Now they were out of the safety of their dorm she kept on glancing around nervously, and she wasn’t the only one. Ruby looked about as anxious as Weiss felt More than once there was some loud noise, or another student would suddenly appear from a side corridor and Weiss would jump in fear, expecting to see the distinctive reddish hair, or hear the loud bragging.

“It’s okay Weiss, it’s okay.” Blake reassured from behind as they stepped out into the courtyard and quick-walked their way to the tower Ozpin’s office was at the summit of. This walk felt so different to their last visit to the tower, back then Weiss thought she’d experienced the worst of anti-Faunus racism. Well, her encounter with Cardin had thoroughly disabused her of that notion. Silently, they crossed the square and walked into the CCT tower, ignoring the reception A.I as usual and beelining straight for the lift.

“Welcome to the CCT, how may I help?” the creepy A.I. voice did nothing to help the already on-edge Weiss. Half-forgotten memories of nightmares flitted through her head before she got a handle on her racing thoughts, the sooner this was over the better.

“We’d like to see Professor Ozpin please.” Yang took the lead, addressing the lift panel area.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Er, no. But it’s important.”

“If you could scan your scrolls, I will send a meeting request to the professor.” The four did so, and waited anxiously in silence, waiting for the answer. Ruby fidgeted uncomfortably until Weiss took her hand to reassure the brunette as much as herself.

After another minute, the A.I. spoke again. “Thank you for your patience, Professor Ozpin has accepted your request. Please stand by.” And the lift whirred into life, taking them up to the top floor and Ozpin’s office.

The jaunty easy listening music did nothing to lift Weiss’ mood, nor did Yang’s idle humming along. Other than that, the ride up was silent until a soft ‘ding’ rang through the carriage and the doors swept open to reveal Professor Ozpin sat behind his desk, fingers steepled.

“Please, do come in.” He gestured for the four to stand in front of the desk. “I must say it is unusual for students to come see me of their own accord. So what is it you wanted to see me about girls?” He looked over them, gaze lingering on Weiss and her still swollen eye.

“We’ve come to report an assault sir.” Ruby took charge, though her voice still quivered slightly. “I was witness to a racially motivated attack by Cardin Winchester and his team where they assaulted an unarmed Faunus woman.” Wait, no they hadn’t agreed to this!

“Ruby!” Weiss hissed at her traitorous girlfriend. “That wasn’t the plan.” Ruby ignored Weiss’ hushed remonstration as did Ozpin, who leaned forward, a dark look glinting in his eyes.

“I see, that is very serious.” Once again his eyes flickered over to Weiss. “Perhaps you could explain further.”

Before Weiss could stop her Ruby ploughed on. “I was out shopping in Vale when I heard the sounds of someone being attacked down an alleyway, I went to investigate and saw the four of them kicking someone on the ground.” Ruby was doing a lot better than usual with this lie, though Weiss noticed she was doing her nervous hand twitch, one of her more subtle tells. “I shouted at them and called for help so they ran off and I went over to help the woman.”

“I assume this was the point you discovered she was a Faunus.”

“Yes sir, I helped her to the nearest emergency room.”

“Then pray tell, why did you come to me rather then make a police report with this poor woman?” The Professor asked shrewdly, sending Ruby into a small stammering fit until Blake cut in smoothly.

“Sir, with all due respect to the fine men and women at Vale PD.” From Blake’s tone it sounded as though she afforded them very little respect indeed. “They aren’t exactly known for their diligence in investigating these kinds of incidents.” Ozpin inclined his head somewhat reluctantly. “And we felt that as head of Beacon, any punishment to be meted out to CRDL would be best done by yourself.”

“I see, and your decision to come to me had no other reasoning?” A single eyebrow raised over the Professor’s dark glasses as he looked directly at Weiss. “Nothing such as another one of my students being the victim of the attack or having something very important to keep from becoming public knowledge?” Weiss felt her stomach drop through the floor. He knew, he had to. It was the only explanation for his thinly veiled cryptic remark. She glanced at the others beside her, Blake also had a look of shock and realisation on her face, Ruby and Yang on the other hand looked slightly puzzled but nervous at the sudden line of questioning.

“I consider myself to be a very tolerant teacher, but that is not to say I appreciate being lied to to my face when it comes to the well-being of one of my students.” Ruby’s face blanched. “So, Miss Schnee, perhaps you could give a more complete and accurate account of what happened.”

Weiss gulped nervously, then stepped forward. “Myself and Ruby were out in the city, shopping and performing a few other tasks.” Whatever Ozpin thought about lying, Weiss and Ruby’s relationship was a private affair and not one Ozpin needed to be privy to. “I was in disguise but had my wings on display. Cardin and his team must have seen us being *ahem* more affectionate with each other than usual so they chased us down an alleyway where they caught us and proceeded to beat me whilst forcing Ruby to watch.” The girl in question shivered beside Weiss who took her hand in comfort. All in all she thought she was handling being caught out very well, she hadn’t had a breakdown at least.

“Cardin punched me repeatedly in the stomach and once in the face, giving me this black eye before I was able to chase them off. Then we returned to the academy, I didn’t want to go to the emergency room as I wasn’t too bad injured and for other, obvious reasons.” Weiss exhaled slowly, watching Professor Ozpin as he scrutinised her closely.

“I see, thank you Miss Schnee. Rest assured I shall conduct a _very_ thorough investigation into Team CRDL’s actions, I’ve had several complaints about their behaviour before now, but this is completely unacceptable.”

“Um Professor?” Weiss ventured timidly. “How did you know?” Ozpin sighed deeply and pressed a button on his desk, bringing up a screen. A few more buttons and a grainy video started playing, showing a very familiar scene. Four girls, three probably Human and one very obviously Faunus on the observation deck. The four shuffled awkwardly as the events played out, Weiss launching herself over the fence and the others rushing to the side to watch. Then Ruby speeding over the fence and down the other side as Yang and Blake ran out of frame towards the lift.

“Being frank Miss Schnee, when I checked the logs to see who exactly the jumper was, to say I was surprised would be something of an understatement.” He pressed a button, closing the screen to look at the squirming girls. “If you’re intending to keep your nature a secret Miss Schnee, stunts like this, no matter how well you’re disguised will not help.”

“Of course sir.” Weiss tried to keep the resignation out of her voice. “The video and the logs?”

“Mysteriously lost due to equipment fault.”

“I see, thank you Professor.” When Ozpin said no more, the others took this to mean they were dismissed and started towards the lift, Weiss however remained. “Sir, one last thing.” He said nothing so Weiss continued. “Promise me nothing will happen to Ruby because of what we’ve told you, no reprisals from CRDL.”

Ozpin’s eyebrow raised curiously at the request. “You have my word Miss Schnee, I will do everything in my power to ensure no harm comes to Miss Rose.” Nodding in acceptance of this, Weiss turned and joined her team by the lift. The last thing they saw before the lift doors slid closed was Professor Ozpin speaking into his scroll, a dark look in his eyes.

“Well, that could’ve gone worse.” Yang piped up over the music.

“It certainly could have.” Weiss agreed, though it was not particularly reassuring that she’d been caught out by yet another person. “I do think I’m going to have to retire Ebony though, too much risk.” The others nodded in agreement as the lift reached the ground floor.

“Ruby, Weiss would you mind going on ahead. Yang and I have some things we need to discuss.” Blake asked as they left the CCT. With their agreement, the black and yellow couple wandered off further into the grounds.

“Shall we head back to the dorm then?” Weiss suggested and to her surprise Ruby shook her head.

“Sorry Weiss, there’s some stuff I need to do. I’ll see you later.” And without waiting for a response, she jogged away in the opposite direction. Leaving Weiss to make the journey back to the dorm alone, jumping at every raised voice and unexpected shadow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Thursday chapter! And I'm gonna level with you all, it's not been a great week. I haven't had much time for writing and what I have managed had to be scrapped due to my own stuff bleeding through, more so than usual. I don't want to say the next chapters will be delayed but if I don't get enough writing done over the weekend... We'll see how it goes anyway.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	42. Chapter 42

Over the next few days rumours flew around the academy over why Team CRDL had been suspended indefinitely and forbidden from attending the tournament in any capacity. Stories ranged from them breaking into Oobleck’s office and stealing all his coffee to them having eaten all the pancake batter in the academy. Weiss of course, had no desire to disabuse them of their theories, too busy with her own business.

Despite Ozpin’s assurances she found herself increasingly paranoid, refusing to leave the safety of the dorm without the comforting weight of Myrtenaster by her side and an entire arsenal of Dust. This odd behaviour drew a few curious looks, but thankfully no awkward questions. Honestly the whole affair would have been a lot easier if she’d had Ruby with her. However the younger girl had been vanishing during any free time they had and was nowhere to be found, only to return late in the evening looking distinctly worn. Weiss had tried asking her what she was up to but Ruby would just blow off the questions. She’d even once tried to follow her partner but had lost her after the first corner.

So Weiss once again found herself in a very familiar situation, sprawled out on her bunk, looking at Blake and Yang, sat together on Blake’s bunk and reading.

“What’s wrong with Ruby? I’m worried about her” She half moaned the question to a raised eyebrow from Yang who didn’t look up from her borrowed copy of ‘Ninjas of Love’ vol. 5.

“Why are you asking us? You’re her girlfriend.” Weiss scowled up at the bottom of Ruby’s bunk.

“I know that. But you’re her sister, she confides in you. Hell, you’re the first person she told about her feelings for me.” Yang rolled her eyes.

“Well yeah, but she hasn’t been doing that recently and I think that’s a good thing. She needs to branch out a little and not just rely on big sis all the time. Besides, what are you so worked up about?”

“Haven’t you noticed Ruby’s been missing the last few days when we aren’t in classes. Normally I wouldn’t pry, she’s entitled to her privacy and couples don’t have to do everything together.” Blake shuffled nervously at those words. The last few days after whatever discussion she and Yang had had after talking to Ozpin, the pair had been inseparable. “But I really am worried and it’s been cutting into our time together and,” Weiss flushed momentarily. “I miss snuggling with her okay?”

Yang stifled a snort. “I knew it wasn’t entirely altruistic.” Her comment was received with a jab in the side from Blake.

“Don’t be mean.” She chided gently, then looked at Weiss. “You’ve tried talking to her already then.”

The heiress nodded. “I have, but she just avoids the question and runs off.” A dark thought, that had been nestled deep in Weiss’ head chose that moment to rear its ugly head. “W-What if the thing with Cardin was too much?” That got Yang’s attention, shooting upright and dropping her book to glare at Weiss.

“I’m sorry, for a moment there I thought I heard you doubt my sister.” Hints of anger laced Yang’s tone making Weiss squeak a little and jolt back in fear. Beside Yang, Blake seemed to hesitate for a moment, then steeled herself and laid a firm hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder.

“Yang, we talked about this.” The statement held no malice or anger, just firm reprimand. It did something though as the reddish gleam in Yang’s eyes dimmed.

“Damnit, sorry Weiss.”

“No, no, you’re right. I shouldn’t doubt Ruby.” Weiss swallowed nervously. “It’s just, well, contradictory to my previous thoughts on the matter, I have considered breaking up with Ruby.” Both Yang and Blake’s jaws dropped. “I want to keep her safe and walking through Vale, even before Cardin, people were insulting her and saying such terrible things. I don’t want her to have to go through that, she acted like it didn’t affect her, but that’s all it was, an act.”

“Weiss, you’re the second-smartest person I know, but what you just said was really dumb.” Yang said flatly. “You really think breaking up with Ruby is going to make her feel any better out of some misguided attempt to protect her?” Weiss shook her head whilst Blake remained silent.

“I just don’t want her to get hurt...” She mumbled guiltily.

“Right and breaking up is going to do the opposite of that.” The blonde commented sarcastically. “I don’t want to hear any more of this ridiculous notion okay?” Weiss nodded again. “Good, now back to the matter at hand, what’s up with Ruby.”

“Have you gone looking for her?” Blake asked.

“I’ve looked all over, the library, the classrooms, the courtyards, the CCT tower, the other dorms…” Weiss recited all the places she’d been.

“Did you check the gym?” The cat Faunus asked, ears perking up.

“Well no, Yang banned Ruby from them unless she was with us for training.” Blake just scoffed.

“And you think something like that would stop her?”

“Well, yes.” Weiss blushed a little at how foolish she sounded. Yang on the other hand did not look happy.

“She’s going to hurt herself if she keeps on like this.” She muttered in irritation. “Weiss, go check the gyms. She’s clearly not listening to me about this, maybe she’ll listen to you.” Weiss however had fixated on the first part of what Yang had said.

“Hurt herself?” She squeaked. “But how?”

“It’s kinda complicated, Ruby knows it better, or at least she should know better. But it’s doctor’s orders, working out too much could cause lasting damage to her.”

“Right, right I’ll go.” Weiss hauled herself upright and snagged her jacket and weapons belt, still ignoring the looks and unvoiced questions from the black and yellow couple as she checked Myrtenaster was firmly in place. Once assured of her protection, Weiss shrugged on her jacket, ensuring it was in place and strode over to the door.

“Don’t wait up, we probably will have a lot to talk about.” She called over her shoulder as she left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Swiftly, she descended the stairs and corridors down to the courtyard, always with a wary eye and a hand lightly resting on her blade’s pommel. Promises were just words after all and a suspension still meant that CRDL were still on the academy grounds. She tried to relax a little as she entered the courtyards, breathing in the late spring air, as she walked. Past the fountains, past her favourite bench beneath the Willow where a disgruntled Coco sat with an equally irritated Velvet at the opposite end. Not wanting to be involved in even more drama, Weiss sped up and within minutes was pushing open the doors to the building that housed the gym and the arena.

“Ruby?” Weiss stuck her head into the changing room, calling out for her girlfriend, only receive no answer. Sighing, she walked through the room and into the gym itself proceeding to check each room in turn. She wasn’t in the room with all the treadmills, or the swimming pool. Room after room bereft of Ruby, until Weiss came to the final room, where she and Ruby had shared their first kiss. There were muffled thumps and familiar sounds of exertion emanating from the closed door. Sighing, Weiss slid open the door to see Ruby once again going to town on a punching bag, slamming punch after punch into the poor thing.

“Ruby!” The girl in question whirled around in shock, letting the bag swing to a halt.

“Weiss! W-What are you doing here?” A very guilty look crossed her face.

“Looking for you, I thought that was fairly obvious. The more important question is ‘What are you doing here?’” She gave her girlfriend a hard look.

“Training?” her nervousness making what should be a statement into a question.

“I can see that, but you’ve been vanishing over the last few days and refusing to talk to me and that’s not on. I’m you partner, your _girlfriend_ , you can’t just shut me out.” Weiss huffed in irritation. “Is this what you’ve been doing? Sneaking off to train despite being told not to for whatever reason.” Ruby shuffled awkwardly, hanging her head in guilt.

“Yes.” She finally answered, not looking up at Weiss.

“Okay, two follow-ups then. Firstly, why aren’t you allowed to train this much and secondly: _why_ have you been doing this. Also we are not having another one of these in the gym, we’re going outside.” Weiss marched over and took hold of Ruby’s arm, guiding her out of the room and through the corridors. “It reeks of sweat in there and so do you, how long were you at that for?”

“Two hours maybe, I wasn’t keeping track.” Ruby muttered guiltily as her girlfriend steered her into the sunshine and onto a nearby bench.

“Now, let’s start with why all this training is bad for you.” Weiss settled down beside the brunette and fixed her with a piercing stare. After a few moments of hesitation where Ruby seemed to be collecting her thoughts, she spoke.

“It’s because of the medication I’m on. The doctor I’ve been seeing is worried about my bone mineral density or whatever, he says the blockers can have a negative effect on it meaning my bones break easier.” She huffed, annoyed at this. “He’s being too careful, I’m fine. I’ve been swinging a scythe since I was six and the meds haven’t been conclusively proven to affect bones, lack of research and stuff.”

“Even so Ruby, this is professional medical advice you’ve been given, surely that makes it important to follow even if it is just being cautious.” Weiss reasoned calmly.

“Yeah, the same advice that kept asking me over and over whether I thought this was the right decision or debating whether I was too young to know what I really wanted.” An oddly bitter note entered Ruby’s voice, tinted with the pain of years past.

“Okay… But that doesn’t explain why you’re so eager ignore their advice.” The brunette hung her head and refused to look at Weiss. Again there was a long pause and Weiss was about to ask again when Ruby finally spoke.

“Ever since Mountain Glenn, since I got captured by Torchwick I’ve been training like this.” There was a pause as she sniffed. “I-I was so scared, I thought he was going to kill me, he probably _was_ going to kill me if you hadn’t arrived.” She swiped her hand across her face. “I’ve never been afraid like that before, and I didn’t want to be ever again. I was learning how to fight without Crescent Rose, so I wouldn’t be helpless without her. But...”

“But Cardin happened.” Weiss finished the thought, a look of horror crossed her face as Ruby nodded choppily.

“I couldn’t protect you, it’s my fault you got hurt.”

“No, it’s not.” Weiss tried to insist but was cut off by Ruby straightening up in anger.

“Yes it was! What’s the point of me training like this if I can’t even fight off Cardin?!” She slumped back down. “I have to be the best, prove to Ozpin I deserved the chance he gave me. Prove that your faith in me as team leader isn’t misguided. I need to be able to protect the people I love.”

“Oh Ruby...” Weiss threw her arms around her girlfriend and felt her press her head into her shoulder, dampening her jacket but she didn’t care. “It’s not your fault, please, I don’t want you hurting yourself over this, over me. Even if you think the doctor’s advice is too cautious, you’ve been running yourself ragged for the last few days and I’ve barely seen you.” She pulled back and raised Ruby’s head to look at her properly. “So please, come back with me, we’ll talk with the others about this and Yang can help both of with our hand-to-hand so we don’t overdo it okay?”

After a few moments, Ruby nodded in agreement and buried her head back into the crook of Weiss’ neck. “I’m sorry I worried you.” Her voice was muffled but Weiss heard it well enough.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” After a minute she pushed Ruby back out of the hug and, after quickly glancing around, pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

“I missed this.” Ruby sighed after pulling back for breath.

“You dolt, it’s only been a few days.” Weiss chided, nuzzling into Ruby’s neck herself.

“Please, you can’t tell me you didn’t miss doing this.” Ruby snickered, drawing a huff of irritation from Weiss.

“Well, it’s your fault and you’re going to have to make it up to me.”

“Oh no, however will I do that?” The brunette cried in mock woe, Weiss pulling back to give her an evil grin.

“Oh, I think I know how...”

* * *

 

“Uh, Weiss, when you said I had to make it up to you, I didn’t think you’d mean this. We already agreed to it and it was my idea in the first place.” Ruby looked confusedly at her girlfriend who was currently setting up her scroll on a chair in front of her bunk.

“I know, I know. The real favour comes later.” Weiss waved off her girlfriend’s concerns as she finished fiddling with the device and sat back on the bunk beside Ruby. Yang had initially been reluctant to leave the couple alone in the dorm together, but had eventually acquiesced, leaving with Blake to have dinner.

“Are you sure you’re ready to do this?” Ruby asked nervously, noting Weiss’ wings fluttering a little and stroking them to try and calm her down.

“No, but if I don’t do this now, it’ll never happen.” Weiss steeled herself and pressed the call button. The scroll only rang once before it was answered, the video feed revealing Winter looking more harassed than usual but with relief breaking through.

“Weiss! You called!” For the first time in years, Weiss saw Winter genuinely smile. “And there’s someone with you and your wings are out.” Winter’s words slowed and the smile slipped slightly.

“Winter, this is my partner Ruby Rose.” Weiss gestured to the girl sat next to her who waved cheerfully. “Ruby, my older sister Winter.”

“It’s nice to meet you Weiss’ big sis!” She chirped only to receive a gentle elbow from Weiss.

“Ruby! Don’t call her that.” She hissed, before turning back to face her sister. “I’m sorry for Ruby, Winter.”

“I see… Am I to assume your entire team knows about your heritage?”

“Oh yeah, she told us about herself just before the Solstice and about you after you came to visit.” Ruby helpfully chipped in again, eliciting a sigh from her girlfriend and a hard look from Winter.

“And you trust them?” Concern flashed in Winter’s eyes as she addressed Weiss, frowning a little.

“With my life.” The heiress asserted confidently, as Ruby squealed a little and hugged Weiss. The action drew a soft chuckle from Winter.

“Well you certainly seem to have a better team than I did, we were at each others throats all the time. There was no way I could trust them like you do yours.” This was getting a little off-track so Weiss took it upon herself to steer the conversation back to its intended destination.

“*ahem* So Winter, the reason I called...”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry for getting angry with you and saying you weren’t my sister when you came to see me.” Weiss hung her head in guilt, unable to meet Winter’s gaze.

“No, Weiss. You have nothing to apologise for, you had every right to be angry. If anything I should be the one apologising for being such an awful sister to you. It had never occurred to me you could also be a Faunus.” Weiss head shot up, her gaze incredulous.

“Winter, _I_ had no idea I was a Faunus until I was ten, you’d already left for the academy by then. You had no way of knowing.”

“I know that, but it doesn’t stop me from feeling guilty about not being there for you when you needed me most.” For the first time ever, Weiss saw a few glimmers of regret in Winter’s normally stoic expression.

“Okay, so you both feel bad about things you’ve done to each other and now apologised!” Ruby piped up happily. “Are we all friends again?” Weiss opened her mouth, then hesitated.

“Sorry Ruby, but I don’t think we’re there yet.” Winter nodded in agreement.

“There’s a lot we need to work through together and sadly I don’t have the time right now.” She addressed the brunette, checking her watch as she did so. “But if you’re amenable, I’ll see if I can take some time off to come see you during the tournament. I trust you’ve improved greatly since the last time we trained together.”

“O-Of course Winter.” Weiss smiled nervously.

“Excellent, I shall make the arrangements and send you the details. Oh and Weiss, thank you for calling and giving me the chance to make this up to you.” Winter’s hand moved off-screen about to end the call but was interrupted by a cry from Weiss.

“Wait, there’s one last thing!” Winter paused in confusion, then her jaw dropped as Weiss pulled Ruby into a deep kiss in full view of the camera. “Bye Winter!” She smirked impishly when she withdrew and ended promptly ended the call.

“What was that!?” A furiously blushing Ruby shrieked, batting Weiss lightly as the heiress laughed.

“That was your favour to me to make up for no kisses or snuggles the last few days.” She managed to reply through tears of laughter.

“But in front of your sister!”

“I wanted to show you off.” Weiss shrugged, still shaking a little. “Also because Winter’s never been able to hold down a relationship and I wanted to brag.”

“That was mean! You could’ve just told her!” Ruby pouted at her girlfriend.

“I could’ve, but that was way more fun.” Weiss grinned back, only Ruby’s reproachful look didn’t lessen. “Okay fine, I’m sorry I did that to you. I shouldn’t have used you as a way to get at my sister.” The brunette continued to frown for another minute before relenting and letting Weiss pull into her side, wrapping a wing around her.

“Love you Ruby.” She mumbled into the soft neck as Ruby started preening the wing wrapped around her.

“I know.” The younger girl replied, smoothing out any errant feathers as they basked in each other’s presence, calm for the first time in days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I managed it, yay! And now we get some Ruby angst, thus the quartet is complete. Also I feel I should mention I am in no way medically trained, I'm an idiot with an internet connection so the bit about blockers may be inaccurate. Not that I didn't do research on GnRH agonists, but as noted, not an awful lot of research on the subject in relation to their usage as a puberty blocker. To whit, I found papers around their use and how it was promising as a treatment, but little to no investigation into any possible side-effects that I could find. So I was working off a few other bits of research and osteoporosis is a side-effect of GnRH agonists when taken by older patients, so perhaps some artistic license used here. Again, idiot with an internet connection, not medically trained at all.
> 
> Also, impish Weiss where Yang and Ruby have rubbed off on her is possibly my favourite version of Weiss, although she may regret her actions later down the line.
> 
> As always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	43. Chapter 43

“Ruby! A little help would be appreciated!” Weiss yelled, narrowly dodging a fiery swipe that left a small crater in the floor and almost stumbling over as she exited her cart wheel.

“I’m trying! Yvette’s not exactly easy to get past!” The reply came from further away, but Weiss couldn’t tell exactly where as she was too busy dodging Jade’s rotors and parrying Delphine’s wild slashes.

They’d prepared extensively for the qualifiers, analysing every team they could come up against. But theory and practice, as it turned out, were two wildly different things. Team JAYD had a rather unusual battle strategy where three of them would all focus on one opponent whilst the remaining member held off the other three combatants. And so Weiss found herself as the lucky one, desperately fighting on three fronts, whilst her teammates struggled to escape the corner they’d been boxed into by Yvette’s massive frame and bulwark shields.

“Why. Won’t. You. Go. Down!?” Yang’s yelling was punctuated by unseen explosions as Weiss kept running and dodging. She’d tried going on the offensive at first, but that had earned her several hard hits to her unguarded side and forced her expend nearly all of her Hard-light Dust. She launched into another backflip as a flame-wreathed flail swung in a deadly arc that nearly took her head off before getting retracted to its owner as Weiss landed clumsily.

“You’re pretty good Schnee, it’ll be a shame when you don’t make it to the tournament.” Api grinned, swinging the flail in lazy circles. Oh and there was the trash talk, Weiss had frankly never seen the appeal, but she could admit it was starting to get to her, especially Jade’s cackling and exclamations of ‘I’ll get you my pretty!’ as she buzzed around her team’s heads, throwing tornado after tornado Weiss’ way.

Api reeled back and threw the flail once more towards Weiss’ head, except this time she tried something a little different. Tapping one of the Dust crystals in her jacket’s sleeve and pushing her aura through it a black gravity glyph materialised in front of her, snagging the striking end in mid-air and killing its momentum. Weiss was then distracted by Delphine attempting to stab her in the back whilst she was distracted so when she turned back to face Api, Weiss was shocked to see the girl flying through the air towards her, pulled along by the retracting chain of her weapon still held firmly by Weiss’ glyph.

Panicking slightly, Weiss let her concentration slip and the glyph dropped, sending the flail zipping back towards its wielder who was unable to dodge in mid-air and smacking into her torso hard.

“Miss Petra has been eliminated! Three and a half minutes left on the round!” Professor Goodwitch called out from above, causing Weiss and her opponents to whirl around to see Yvette slumped on the ground breathing heavily and the rest of Team RWBY rushing forward to aid their teammate.

“Oh, this is gonna suck!” Delphine moaned, dropping into a guard only for Weiss to repay the favour from before, slamming a kick into her unguarded back, sending her sprawling into the path of Crescent Rose.

To call the rest of the fight brutally short would be an understatement, the rest of Team JAYD having very little by way of protection, it only took a solid hit from either Yang or Ruby to eliminate them.

“Excellent work both teams, that earns Team RWBY five points for a full elimination and Team JAYD no points for no eliminations. Remember you both have only one match left and only the top eight teams may compete.” Professor Goodwitch informed the combatants. “I suggest all of you vacate the arena, next up: Team CFVY vs. Team GRFF.”

Grinning broadly, the four made their way over to their changing room as CFVY emerged. Oddly, both Coco and Velvet were pointedly ignoring each other as they entered the ring whilst Fox and Yatsu looked distinctly uneasy.

“Good luck!” Ruby chirped at the group and was met with thanks of varying unenthusiasm making her smile droop a little as they left the arena and flopped out onto the benches.

“Why did it take the three of you so long to defeat Yvette?” Weiss moaned, massaging her aching shoulder where she’d been clipped by Api’s flail early on.

“I’ll have you know, that girl is way tougher than she looks and she looks like she can tank a rocket launcher to the face without breaking a sweat!” Yang shot back, rubbing her knuckles. “I mean she’s almost as tall as Yatsu with muscles to match for crying out loud!”

“I know, I know. I’m just sore from the fight.” Weiss groaned back, now checking her side. Yep, her ribs were definitely bruised.

“You should take it as a compliment, they only single out whoever they think is the strongest member of the team they’re fighting.” Blake chuckled weakly, nursing her left wrist.

“Yes, and I’m sure my battered body will thank them for the glowing assessment.” The heiress sniped back sarcastically as Ruby crawled over to curl into her side.

“Aww, don’t be mad Weiss, you did good. We’re guaranteed a spot in the tournament now, I did the maths.” She grinned up at Weiss in expectation of praise for willingly doing maths, which she received in the form of head pats.

“You’re sure of that?” Blake asked, smirking a little at how Ruby nuzzled into Weiss’ hand.

“Yep, CFVY’s match is the last of this round so even if we get no points in the next fight right now, we’re still more than five points ahead of the current ninth place team so it’s impossible for us not to be selected.”

“Well that’s a weight off my mind then.” Yang sighed in relief, having acquired some athletics tape during the conversation and binding her injured wrist.

“Even so, that doesn’t mean we should be complacent about the final match.” Weiss reminded them all sternly, the effect somewhat ruined by the girl practically curled up in her lap to receive head pats.

“Yeah yeah.” Yang drawled, stretching out and standing up. “Well I’m beat, I’m gonna go take a nap, you girls coming?” Blake nodded and stood up as well, linking arms with Yang.

“I will just as soon as this one stops hogging my lap.” Weiss jiggling her leg to try to dislodge Ruby only for the brunette to nuzzle further into her. “Ruby, come on, we’ve stayed here long enough. CFVY will be back soon.”

“Don’t want to, you’re soft.” Ruby mumbled, making no effort to move.

“If you don’t get up I won’t be able to give you those fancy cookies I bought yesterday.” The heiress cajoled and Ruby’s head shot up.

“The ones with three kinds of chocolate chip?” She was practically drooling.

“Yes, so let’s go.” As soon as the words were out of Weiss’ mouth, she found herself getting hauled to her feet and dragged by the hand out of the changing room following by a giggling Yang and smirking Blake.

Ruby slowed down a little as they entered the courtyard allowing Blake and Yang to catch up a little. Together, the four of them took the time to actually admire the grounds as they walked, there must be a massive team of gardeners at the academy to keep the grounds looking so good. Either that or Professor Goodwitch just used her semblance.

“Ya know, I haven’t really seen that many other couples at Beacon.” Yang commented, leaning into Blake and was rewarded with a kiss. “Other than us four and Coco and Velvs.”

“Aren’t Ren and Nora going out?” Weiss asked in confusion, they certainly acted like they were _together-_ together.

“Nope, Nora’s very insistent on that, don’t know why though. They’re both head over heels for each other. Well Nora is at least, I can never really tell with Ren.” Yang hummed in thought.

“He’s ace though right?” Ruby piped up making Weiss double-take.

“What? How did I not know that?” She squawked in indignation.

“Weiss, we both have aprons that say ‘Please do nothing to the cook’. We thought it was a fun solidarity kind of thing. Also I’m pretty sure I’m proof asexuals can have romantic relationships Ruby.” Blake meanwhile was giving Weiss an odd look.

“You seriously didn’t know?” The heiress shook her head. “He’s really open about it, and even if he wasn’t, isn’t it blindingly obvious?”

“Evidently not.” Weiss huffed and Ruby decided now was the time to chip in.

“She didn’t know either of you two were queer until you told her.” She informed the black and yellow couple only to be hushed by a blushing Weiss.

“Really?” Yang gaped incredulously. “I was flirting with _everyone,_ I was flirting with _you_ sometimes for the gods’ sakes.”

“Weiss, do you just have no gaydar?” Blake asked, a lot more tactfully than Yang’s shock.

“Is it really a gaydar if we’re talking about her not knowing Ren’s ace either?” Ruby mused quietly.

“Not really that important right now Ruby.” Yang chided turning her attention back to Weiss who was feeling a heat rising in her cheeks at this scrutiny.

“I’m new to being a lesbian, okay!?” Weiss huffed, cheeks puffing in a very good impression of an irritated hamster. “I have no idea how I’m supposed to go about things. Should I be wearing flannel all the time? I don’t know! All I know is that I like girls and that’s it!”

“Woah woah, calm down.” Yang urged, glancing around to make sure no one was listening in. “Sorry, we were just teasing a little.” Weiss took a few calming breaths to steady herself.

“Right, of course, I overreacted a little, sorry.” She hung her head, only for Ruby to place a hand under her chin and forced her to look up at her.

“Hey, it’s okay to be confused. And it’s not like there’s a secret lesbian code you need to follow to be valid.” She reassured Weiss, transferring her hand to Weiss’ cheek and stroking gently, a gesture that Weiss unconsciously nuzzled into.

“Uh, girls, you might want to tone it down a bit, people are starting to stare.” Yang hissed, elbowing Ruby in the side and making the two jump apart.

“Right, yes. Thanks Yang.” Weiss stuttered out, face burning once more.

“No problem princess. But jeez, you two are absolutely hopeless.” The four continued on their way, though Ruby and Weiss stayed at arm’s length this time. After a little while Ruby piped up again.

“So you’re not into guys then Weiss?” Nonplussing the heiress for a moment.

“Oh right, I guess I did say I’m a lesbian didn’t I?” She shrugged awkwardly. “I suppose, I don’t think guys ever really held any appeal to me.”

“What about Neptune then?” Blake raised an eyebrow and Weiss made a face.

“You know full well I wasn’t fully aware of my sexuality at that point. Besides, even if I was into men like that, he very much removed himself from the list of potential partners after his behaviour when he met ‘Ebony’.” Blake hummed in agreement, frowning a little.

“Yes, I’d hoped being Sun’s partner he wouldn’t be quite so bad.” She mused unhappily. “Still, better you know who he really is than who he pretends to be when he’s hitting on yo-.”

“Ruby!?” Blake was cut off by a loud call that immediately put Weiss on edge. Which could only mean…

“Penny!?” Ruby called back, an ecstatic smile blooming across her face as she darted away down a side path to collide with the ginger girl in a powerful tackle hug that somehow didn’t knock Penny off her feet. “It’s good to see you again!” The brunette squealed as the rest of her team approached at a more sensible pace, one sporting a dark scowl.

“And it’s good to see you too Ruby!” She only then seemed to notice the other three stood there. “Sal-u-tations Yang, Blake and Weiss!” She grinned brightly.

“Hello Penny, not running away from people now?” Weiss bit back, an unpleasant feeling churning in her gut, not helped by that unnaturally wide grin on Penny’s face.

“Weiss, be nice.” Yang hissed, elbowing her as Penny’s smile dimmed a little at Weiss’ words.

“No, no. Weiss is right, I was quite rude during our last meeting.” The strange girl admitted, scuffing the toe of her shoe against the ground. Weiss narrowed her eyes at the gesture, it all felt calculated, as though someone had taught Penny exactly how to play the part of a cute yet endearingly clumsy girl.

Yet Weiss still couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was about the girl that rubbed her the wrong way.

“Don’t mind Weiss, she’s just cranky today.” Yang reassured Penny, giving Weiss a side-eye. “She got a bit beat up in our qualifier just now.”

“Oh dear!” Penny’s hands flew to her mouth. “Are you alright?” Weiss sniffed in disdain, she didn’t need this girl’s pity.

“I’m perfectly fine, thank you.” She snapped, even Ruby was now looking at Weiss in bemusement.

“Ooookaaaaay…” Yang interrupted the awkward silence that followed. “Well Penny, I’m sure you and Ruby have a lot to catch up on, so we’ll leave you to it.”

Before Weiss could protest at leaving Ruby with the strange girl, Yang wrapped an arm around Weiss’ shoulders and steered her away, Blake in tow, leaving behind Penny and an even more confused Ruby. Once they had left that courtyard, Yang finally released Weiss.

“Okay, green is not a good look for you Weiss.” She stated firmly, folding her arms.

“What? Of course it isn’t, anyone with an eye for fashion can see blues suit me better than green. But why on Remnant are you talking about colour co-ordination.

“She’s saying you’re jealous of Penny.” Blake supplied helpfully, drawing a squawk of outrage from Weiss.

“I am not jealous!” Yang and Blake just gave her a look.

“Sure you aren’t...” Yang’s tone couldn’t be more sceptical if she tried.

“I’m not! There’s just something about her that rubs me the wrong way.”

“Hey it’s okay, just maybe tone it down a little. I can tell you for a fact jealousy is not an attractive quality.” Blake nodded fervently in agreement.

“There’s nothing to tone down because there is no jealousy!” Weiss huffed angrily.

“Okay fine, you’re not jealous.” Yang raised her hands in surrender. “But you have to admit, you weren’t exactly nice to Penny just now.” Weiss opened her mouth to argue, then shut it again. She _had_ been rather short with the odd girl. “Penny is Ruby’s friend, so let’s maybe not upset her by mean to her friends hmm?”

“Fine. I’ll be nicer...” Weiss acquiesced, still feeling a little huffy.

“Good, now I really want to go take that nap and have Blake cuddles.” Yang gave her girlfriend a hopeful look that was replied to with an eye-roll and small nod. Cheering quietly, Yang continued to lead the way back to the dorm.

It wasn’t long before they were back at their room, Yang throwing open the door and leading the way in, letting the door swing shut behind them. Just as Yang was about hop onto Blake’s bunk, said owner of the bunk in question cleared her throat.

“Shower first Yang, you stink of sweat.” She ordered, pointing to the bathroom.

“Fine.” She grumbled, pulling out her tank top and shorts and marching into the bathroom. Weiss removed her jacket, hung it up on the coat stand and began inspecting it. She’d used up all of the Gravity and Hard-light Dust on the right sleeve and the Ice Dust probably needed replacing too.

“Hey, Weiss. This was in the post for you this morning.” Blake called over, tossing an envelope which Weiss caught deftly out of mid-air. She didn’t recognise the handwriting, it was a rather untidy scrawl of the sort Weiss would expect from Ruby. Curious, she tore open the envelope, pulling out a folded sheet of paper and some photographs.

Photographs of her in Vale with Ruby, wings proudly on display. It took all of Weiss’ discipline to not gasp in shock or drop the contents of the letter. With shaking hands, Weiss unfolded the accompanying paper and at the top of the page, beneath a painfully familiar wolf logo were the words.

‘We know’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun! It turns out the White Fang are secretly also the Dark Brotherhood! What will Weiss do? Well you'll have to find out on Monday.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


	44. Chapter 44

The paper crumpled in Weiss’ hands as she read and reread the words. The White Fang knew about her, everything was ruined. There was more to the letter and Weiss continued reading.

‘Come to the alley connecting Wharf Street and Ozma road in the harbour district at 6:00 this evening. Come alone and unarmed or everyone will know your secret.’

She glanced at the clock, it was approaching five already, she didn’t have much time. But how would she excuse herself from Blake and Yang? She briefly entertained the idea of telling them, but Weiss was not going to let anyone else get dragged into her mess again. Thinking quickly, she strode over to her Dust supplies, stuffing the letter and photographs into her pocket, and pantomimed searching through them.

“Damnit!” Blake looked up from her book at Weiss’ cry of indignation.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m out of Ice Dust crystals and I used it all up earlier.” Weiss lied, palming the ample supply from the chest. “I need to go get some more.”

“Do you have to? It’s getting kind of late.” Blake pointed out.

“Our last qualifier is first thing tomorrow morning and I don’t want to be under-equipped.” Weiss stood and marched back over to the coat stand, snagging her jacket and pulling it on. “Tell Yang and Ruby where I’ve gone, I shouldn’t be too long.” Blake nodded, still looking oddly at the heiress, but Weiss wasn’t going to let her get a foothold. Nodded in acknowledgement, Weiss quickly left the dorm and started to make her way down to the airdock.

* * *

 

There was only one other time Weiss had been this nervous on an airship ride, on the journey to Beacon, her back still aching from cutting off her wings the previous night and jittering anxiously over what would be the first time she’d ever left the Kingdom.

It was half past five by the time the airship touched down into central Vale and Weiss hopped off the transport and walked out into the central square. She would arrive at the meeting point only just in time if she was quick. Checking again the directions on her scroll, Weiss set off towards the harbour.

As she walked briskly, she went over in her head everything she knew. Somehow the White Fang had learned she and Ebony were one and the same and had tailed her on her date with Ruby. She did however have a suspicion as to the sender of the letter, but there could be more people involved, there _should_ be.

There was one silver lining to this affair, something Jacques Schnee had taught her about negotiations. People didn’t bargain from a position of power, they wanted something from her otherwise they’d just release the information and that gave Weiss some badly needed leverage.

Her walk through Vale could not have been more different from the last time she’d been here. People were still avoiding her, but it wasn’t out of disgust, it was respect and a dash of fear. Fear of the emblem she wore proudly across her back and on her breast. It was jarring to say the least, all these people who would’ve hated her for what she was, cowed by a symbol.

All too soon, Weiss found herself at the entrance to the alleyway. She shuddered a little, remembering what had happened last time she’d walked down an alley. Steeling herself, she strode forward into the dank side street until she reached the middle.

“I’m here, unarmed and alone like you asked, so let’s talk.” She called out, looking around for signs of life.

“You’ve got guts Schnee, I’ll grant you that.” A low voice growled out and there was a thud as someone heavy landed behind Weiss. Whirling around and taking a few steps backwards Weiss’ suspicions were confirmed. His left arm was horribly mangled and twisted, like aura had tried to heal it before it was set properly and the right was covered in scars and hung limp. But it was still unmistakably the man from the train. His hateful eyes gleamed from behind his mask as he loomed over Weiss.

“I’d thank you, but I’m not in the business of accepting compliments from the likes of you.” Weiss sneered, remembering another lesson Jacques had taught her, never show weakness even when in a weak position. It was galling that his lessons were actually coming in useful, but needs must and Weiss needed all the help she could get at this point.

“Pretty rich coming from you, bird girl.” He chuckled, still holding himself unnaturally tall, likely trying to intimidate her.

“Oh you misunderstand me, I didn’t mean I don’t accept compliments from Faunus, I meant I don’t accept compliments from terrorist scum who try to kill me.” She replied coolly and was pleased to note his posture stiffen. That was good, get him off-kilter and he’d start making mistakes, but don’t aggravate him too much or negotiations would break down entirely. “Anyway, I didn’t come here to exchange unpleasantries. What do you want from me?”

“Straight to business, I like it.” The man rumbled. “Put simply, I want you to join us.”

“Excuse me?!” Weiss managed to avoid shrieking, but was unable to keep her voice neutral.

“The boss’ associate has big plans for Beacon and I think he could do with someone on the inside, not to mention your access to the SDC would be invaluable to our organisation.” Weiss blinked in shock for a moment before gathering her wits.

“Well this certainly is a far cry from your behaviour on the train. What happened to, ‘Faunus or not, you’re still a Schnee bastard’?”

“I’ve had time to think and I believe you’re far more useful to us alive than dead.” He replied, shrugging his left shoulder.

“I see...” A picture was slowly building up for Weiss of exactly the sort of situation she was in.

“So you want me to act as the White Fang’s mole in Beacon academy, betraying both them and by extension the Kingdoms in exchange for you not releasing the knowledge that I’m a Faunus to the world.” She summarised.

“Exactly.” The thug confirmed. “So what’s your choice, Schnee?” Weiss took a deep breath.

“Tell them.”

“What!?”

“Go on, tell the world what I am. If you think my own safety comes before that of the kingdom then you do not understand me at all.” And with that Weiss turned and began marching away down the alley.

“What about the safety of your little girlfriend?” Weiss froze mid-step and turn back to face the man who approached almost lazily. “I think I understand you better than you think, Schnee.” Weiss turned to face the man properly as he finished his menacing approach, trying not to let the fear coursing through her show. “I saw you, you refused to leave her behind and were beaten for your troubles. You care for her, too much.” Weiss remained silent, fists clenched. “So now let’s up the stakes a little, join us and ‘little red’ won’t become ‘little dead’. How does that sound?” He chuckled darkly at his ‘joke’ as Weiss grit her teeth and looked away sharply.

“And what if I refuse?”

“I don’t think you will, I think you care enough for this scrawny Human that you’d do anything to keep her safe.” Weiss sighed deeply, he was right about that. She would do anything to protect Ruby.

She knew what she had to do. Raising her head to look the man straight in the eye, Weiss made her choice.

* * *

 

“Hey Weiss, you get the Dust you needed?” Ruby chirped cheerfully from her bunk as Weiss traipsed back into the dorm.

“What? Oh yes I did, I got you something as well.” Weiss reached into the carrier bag and pulled out a bag of cookies, tossing them up to her girlfriend. “Sorry they’re a bit old, late in the day and all.”

“It’sh fine Weissh!” Ruby mumbled around a mouthful of cookies. “Fhank you!”

“It’s no problem really.” Weiss set the bag down on her desk and shed her coat, laying it out on the desk as well.

“You had dinner yet Weiss?” Yang asked from where she was curled up next to Blake, idly scritching at her happily twitching ears.

“Yes I grabbed something from the bakery I got Ruby’s cookies from.” Weiss replied, not looking up as she delicately removed any traces of Hard-light Dust left in the casing and replaced the crystal, doing the same for the Gravity, Ice and Fire crystals. Satisfied with her work, she hung the jacket up and placed the remaining crystals into her supply.

“Ruby, will your bed support both of us?” Weiss asked, looking warily at the ropes.

“It should do, I think?” She shrugged unhelpfully. Sighing, Weiss grabbed the edge and hauled herself up into the bed, the ropes creaking ominously but still holding. “Um Weiss, what are you doing up here?” Ruby asked, lying down beside the heiress who promptly latched onto her making the younger girl squeak.

“I missed you and I wanted to say sorry for being mean to Penny earlier, it’s been a long day.”

“Aww, it’s okay Weiss.” Ruby squirmed deeper into the embrace, letting Weiss wrap one of her wings over them, the other hanging off the edge of the bed. “I know you didn’t really mean it.”

“Still thought I ought to apologise.” Weiss murmured and paused for a moment, then: “You know I’d do anything for you Ruby, anything at all to keep you safe?”

“Uhhh… Yes?” Ruby asked in confusion.

“I just wanted you to know. Love you Ruby.” Weiss nuzzled deeper into the crook of Ruby’s neck, trying to draw comfort from her warmth.

“I know.” Came the reply as Weiss slowly drifted into an uneasy doze, disturbed by the low buzzing in her ears.

* * *

 

“Come on Weiss! It’s like you’re not even trying!” Yang called out as she sent Weiss sprawling to the floor for what felt like the thousandth time that day. Actually it was only the twelfth, but who was counting? The final qualifier that morning hadn’t gone particularly well, they’d only just managed three eliminations before the time ran out. But regardless of performance, they were in the tournament, coming fifth overall in the academy rankings which wasn’t all that bad considering the only other first-year team that qualified was JNPR.

With only three weeks before the tournament officially started, Yang had decided to step up Weiss’ hand-to-hand training. They’d been practising on and off whenever they had free time or team training and to say Weiss’ fisticuffs were abysmal would be an understatement. In Yang’s words: ‘I could throw a better punch when I was five!’

“I _am_ trying!” Weiss growled, hauling herself back to her feet. It was kind of hard to concentrate when yesterday was weighing so heavily on her mind. Perhaps if she came clean, they’d find it in themselves to forgive her. Ha! And Beringels would fly.

“Hey, there something on you mind princess? You’ve been out of it all day.” Yang asked, walking over to Weiss.

“I’m fine thank you Yang.” The heiress gritted out.

“Yeah, and getting blind-sided by Teale was just normal for you?” Weiss winced, remembering how distracted she’d been during the fight and getting picked up and thrown into a wall for her troubles.

“Just an off day, we all have them.” She deflected, flexing and raising her hands into a guard. “Again.” Eyebrow raised sceptically, Yang complied, readying her own guard before launching a quick rabbit punch Weiss only just blocked, the impact juddering up her arms. Weiss responded with her own flurry of blows, only for most of them to be blocked and the ones that did make contact did nothing to Yang. She tried side stepping and dropping low into a sweep kick that the blonde easily hopped over and when Weiss rose back up was met with a solid blow to the gut, sending her sprawling back to the ground.

“Argh! This is pointless!” She screeched in frustration, pulling herself upright, nursing her stomach. “I’ll just stick to Dust and Myrtenaster.”

“Come on, it’s not pointless.” Yang chided, offering a hand to the disgruntled heiress. “You’re actually way better than you were when we began.” Weiss took the proffered hand and let herself get pulled back to her feet.

“It doesn’t feel like it.” She grumbled, dusting herself off. “Can we just call it a day?”

“I guess, we have been at the for a while.” Yang still looked concerned. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I said I’m fine!” Weiss snapped, before dropping her head into her hand in exasperation. “Sorry, I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now. I need to prepare for the tournament, my sister’s coming in a few weeks, not to mention exams after the tournament is over.” She tactfully left out the part where the White Fang had some nefarious plans for Beacon also gnawing at the back of her mind as well as the renewed buzzing in her ears that had been present ever since the night before.

“Hey if it’s too much for you, I could swap in for the final instead. I’m sure Ozpin would let us.” Yang offered, but Weiss waved her off.

“No, it’s fine, really. Thank you for the offer.” Weiss smiled awkwardly up at Yang as she checked the time on her scroll. “I’m going to go, there’s something I need to do.”

“Um okay, see you later Weiss.” Yang awkwardly waved off the heiress who left the training room and beelined for the nearest bathroom, breathing a sigh of relief as the door swung shut behind her. She still felt dirty, unclean and unworthy. The tap was on as high as it would go, scalding her hands before it was healed away as she scrubbed vigorously at them. But no matter how hard she tried, the guilty taint remained and Weiss wasn’t sure it would ever leave her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is fine I'm sure. There's not really much to say about this one, I think it speaks for itself. However, vol. 3 is just around the corner and things will definitely be fine throughout.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	45. Chapter 45

Weiss’ hand stung as she meticulously scratched out her plan for Professor Oobleck’s next essay on the settling of Vacuo. She wasn’t actively avoiding her team per say, but any opportunity to get away from the, dare she say it, affectionate looks they kept throwing her way she would take. It only served to remind her of everything she was about to lose.

“Hello Weiss!” A cheerful voice called out, earning several shushes and even more apologies as Pyrrha approached Weiss’ table. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

“Not at all.” Weiss gestured to the seat opposite which Pyrrha sank into gratefully.

“Thanks, I’ve been training all morning.” True enough, the redhead did look stickier than usual.

“And you didn’t take a shower yet because…?” Weiss raised a questioning eyebrow.

“I’m taking a break from my team as well. I love them to bits, but they can get a little too much at times, especially with the tournament coming up.” Pyrrha sighed. “You should see Nora’s training schedule, she’s trying to get me to the point I have ‘Thunder Thighs’.”

“Um, I thought that wasn’t a good thing?” The heiress cocked her head in confusion.

“According to Nora it’s the point where you can crush a ripe watermelon with only your thighs.” Pyrrha dropped her head onto her hand, not noticing Weiss’ luminescent blush at the image Pyrrha had just described to her.

“O-Oh, I see.” Weiss stammered out, shaking her head to rid herself of the new image her mind had conjured of Ruby and the watermelon.

“Are you taking a break from your team as well? You don’t normally study alone any more.” It was true, Weiss had dedicated most of her study time either ensuring Ruby was well caught up to the academic side of their studies or with Blake, working in studious silence.

“Sort of...” Weiss stalled, trying to come up with a plausible reason. “I wanted some time to myself.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I can go if you’d like.” Pyrrha made to get up but was stopped by a hand from Weiss.

“No, it’s fine. It’s just, you know I’ve been nominated to participate in the finals?” Pyrrha nodded. “It wasn’t exactly my decision, I was out-voted and I feel like they’re all expecting great things from me that I won’t be able to deliver.” The redhead hummed in agreement with Weiss’ half-truth. Whilst it wasn’t exactly at the forefront of her worries, the stress of having the honour of Team RWBY placed squarely on her shoulders was still present.

“The stress is getting to you?”

“Just a little.” Weiss sighed deeply. “You’ve been in lots of tournaments before, I imagine it must be nothing to you by now.”

“You’d be surprised.” Pyrrha leaned back in her chair. “In some ways it actually gets worse with each victory, people expect even more from you.” Weiss stomach knotted itself at the idea of more expectations being placed upon her.

“How do you cope then? You’re the three time Mistral champion.” Weiss found herself deeply thankful she wasn’t in Pyrrha’s position, she couldn’t even begin to imagine the pressure of being in the public eye like that, and she was the heiress to the largest corporation in the world.

“Oh, well I find it helps to remember it doesn’t really matter who wins or loses.” Pyrrha shrugged. “I mean tournament’s are fun and all and I enjoy it a lot. But at the end of the day we’re training to be hunters aren’t we? That’s what we should be focused on, becoming the best we can be to do this job. And if we’re able to entertain people demonstrating our skills, then I see no downside.”

Pyrrha’s honest smile reminded Weiss so much of Ruby, two idealists cut from the same cloth wanting to keep the world safe and make it a better place.

“That’s actually quite reassuring, thank you.”

“Oh it’s nothing.” Pyrrha tried to wave off the thanks. “I’m glad I could help.” It certainly did provide some small comfort to the heiress, though her recent actions still weighed heavy on her conscience.

“So what have the rest of your team been doing to ‘help’? Surely it’s not just Nora’s exercise regime.” Weiss asked, trying to push aside the cloying tang of guilt.

“Well at Nora’s behest, Ren has taken over making my meals.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad...” Weiss said, remembering the delicious meal they’d all shared.

“It is when he’s determined the most healthy and efficient food option is an unidentifiable green liquid.” Pyrrha groaned in distress. “I haven’t had anything solid to eat for two weeks, I miss bacon.” Weiss had to stifle a chuckle at this. The great athlete Pyrrha, who never complained about anything despite all the expectations placed upon her, moaning about missing eating bacon. It was incredibly refreshing to talk to Pyrrha like this, away from the stress of being around her team.

“And Jaune?”

“Jaune’s been the most bearable actually, he’s convinced I’m going to crush the rest of the competition, at least until Nora reminded him you’re in the finals. I think he had a bit of a crisis of faith about it.” A frown briefly crossed Pyrrha’s face that Weiss only just picked up on.

“He’s still pining over me is he?” Weiss asked glumly.

“Not exactly, he hasn’t mentioned asking you out recently, but he’s still smitten.”

“I’m sorry.” Weiss tried to apologise only for Pyrrha to wave it off.

“It’s not your fault.”

“I know, but I don’t like seeing you hurt, seeing anyone hurt really. Except CRDL, they deserve everything they get.” Pyrrha’s eyebrows raised in surprise at the vitriol in Weiss’ voice.

“You know what they did to get suspended?” Weiss paused, trying to come up with a plausible story.

“I do, it was actually Ruby and I who reported them. We witnessed them assaulting someone out in Vale, an unarmed Faunus woman.” Being on the receiving end of said assault counted as being a witness right? Pyrrha’s face contorted into a look of horror and anger.

“They didn’t?” It wasn’t much of a question, she knew the answer but desperately wanted it to not be true. “I knew they were bullies and generally reprehensible people, but to go as far as to attack someone...” Pyrrha shook her head in disgust.

“I know.” They sat in silence for a while, unwilling to be the first to speak.

“I should probably go.” Pyrrha finally broke the tension, rising from her seat. “I really need to take a shower, it’s always nice chatting with you.” Pyrrha tactfully avoided the last part of the conversation.

“Thanks for the advice.” Weiss smiled up at the redhead, a little wan but still genuine and waved her goodbye for what may be the last time. She checked the clock on her scroll as Pyrrha was walking away, she still had an hour, time enough to finish working on the essay.

As it turned out, the guilt pressing down on her proved to be more distracting. Not helping either was that little red dot that started dancing across her papers. Unconsciously, her gaze followed it as it sped around the table then off and onto the floor before coming back to dance once more across her work. This was getting annoying now, so Weiss snatched up her papers and stalked after the dot which had jumped off the table again and travelled across the floor and around a corner. So focused was she on the annoying spot, Weiss didn’t notice someone stood right in front of her until she walked right into them, bouncing off in a rather undignified manner.

“I’ve gotta say, I was not expecting that to work.” Yang chirped in surprise.

“Yang? What are you doing here?” Weiss asked indignantly, immediately realising what the source of the annoying dot was.

“Yeah, we gotta talk.” And before Weiss could argue against it Yang grabbed her hand and hauled her away out of the library.

* * *

 

Perhaps it had been arrogant of Weiss to assume her teammates wouldn’t notice something was up with her, they were all far too attuned to each other’s behaviour to not notice when things had changed. What was surprising to Weiss was that it wasn’t Ruby who picked up on her distress first, but Yang. Something that she was oddly grateful for, she couldn’t let Ruby know, ever.

“Alright princess, spill.” Yang had hauled her off to an empty classroom where she deposited Weiss by the teachers desk and was pacing between her and the exit, a clear warning.

“You’re not allowed to call me that any more.” Weiss informed the blonde, avoiding the question as she perched irritably on the teacher’s desk watching as Yang stopped for a moment in confusion.

“What?”

“That’s Ruby’s name for me now, since I refuse to be called snow angel. So you’re no longer allowed to use it.” Yang buried her face in her hands.

“You’re avoiding the subject Weiss, you’ve been out of it the past few days and I’m worried about you. You said you had a lot on your mind, is that it?” Weiss squirmed under the scrutiny, lying to Yang was really hard. Unlike Ruby where lying to her just made you feel terrible, not that Weiss needed help on that front after the last couple of days, Yang had years of experience as a big sister and could winkle out a lie with ease.

“I have had a lot to deal with.” Weiss tried to weasel her way out with a half-truth, but Yang was having none of it.

“Yeah, no that ain’t gonna fly this time.” Yang glared at the heiress. “If you don’t start talking, I’m going to have to get Ruby involved.

“You wouldn’t!” Weiss gasped, fear trickling down her spine.

“Yes I would.” She folded her arms, daring Weiss to challenge her. They glared at each other for another minute until finally Weiss broke down.

“Fine, fine. I’ll tell you, but this had to stay between us, nobody else can know.”

“Okay...”

“Swear to me you won’t tell anyone else.”Desperation glimmered in her eyes.

“Jeez Weiss, what did you do that needs all this secrecy, you kill someone or something?” Yang’s smile slipped at Weiss’ stony faced expression. “Shit… You’d better start from the beginning.” Yang hopped up on the desk beside Weiss who sighed deeply.

“A few days ago, after our match with Team JAYD I received a letter containing several pictures of myself and Ruby on our date that was ostensibly from the White Fang.” Yang’s grip on the edge of the desk tightened slightly.

“You didn’t just go into Vale for Dust that day.”

“The letter had a time and place, if I didn’t go they’d release the information.”

“And you didn’t think to tell any of us?!” Yang managed to refrain from shouting, but the anger in her voice was clear.

“And what good would that have done? You’d have insisted on coming with me and getting tangled up in this mess, I am not letting anyone else on this team getting hurt because of my decisions.” The image of Ruby being forced to watch her get beaten flashed through her mind. “You think I wouldn’t have gone to Ozpin or someone if I thought I had the time? You were in the shower and Ruby was with Penny, there wasn’t time to gather all of you and get to the docks. So I made a decision.”

“We’re not useless you know.” Yang shot back in indignation. “We don’t need protecting, _Ruby_ doesn’t need protecting.”

“Yes well, I know Ruby can heal a broken leg, doesn’t mean I’m going to stand by and let her get hurt in the first place.” Weiss sniped back and Yang just sighed in response.

“So you went to bargain with terrorists.” Yang’s tone made it very clear she thought this was one of the stupidest things Weiss had done.

“I needed to know how much they knew. And it was just the one terrorist, big mistake on his part, the thug from the train with the chainsaw blade.” Yang snorted a little at the memory.

“Yeah, I remember, an uninspired weapon if ever I saw one, he could’ve at least added a gun or something.”

“Well he survived the crash and must’ve been stalking me for a while to get the pictures.” Weiss shuddered a little at the thought of the man following her around.

“So what did he want?”

“He wanted me to join the White Fang.” Yang’s jaw dropped.

“I’m sorry, for a moment there I could’ve sworn you said that he wanted you to _join the White Fang_.”

“That’s correct, they have designs on Beacon and he thought a mole inside would be useful. I actually considered the offer for a brief moment, try to work as a reverse mole. But that would be far too risky.”

“So you refused.”

“Well naturally, no secret of mine is worth the safety of the academy and the Kingdom.” Yang gave her a puzzled look.

“So why’d you kill him?”

“He threatened Ruby.” Immediately, red flared in Yang’s eyes and her grip on the desk threatened to splinter the wood. “He changed the terms of the deal, I join and Ruby doesn’t have the entirety of the White Fang gunning for her head.” Yang was breathing hard through her nose, trying to calm herself down.

“And then?” Weiss felt nausea coil in the pit of her stomach as she remembered what happened next, a phantom smell that made her want to retch.

“Well...”

* * *

 

“ _I’ll do it, I’ll join your little cult. Anything to keep Ruby safe.” Weiss gritted out, ignoring the man’s chuckles._

“ _Good choice Schnee. Let’s go introduce you to the boss, I can’t wait to see the look on his face when I tell him I brought you into the fold.” He started down a side alley, gesturing for Weiss to follow which she did begrudgingly. It was only for a little while, she just needed to probe a little deeper._

“ _He doesn’t know?”_

“ _There was no need to bother him with this. But now, I’ll be given that promotion I’ve always deserved, Adam will make me head of an entire chapter for this.” Behind him, Weiss smirked a little, this man was far too arrogant for his own good._

“ _And what makes you think you’ll get all the credit? Surely your co-conspirators will be sharing the glory.”_

“ _Ha! As if I’d let anyone else in on this. You’ve gotta claw way up to the top and you don’t get there by working with people or getting careless.”_

“ _I couldn’t agree more.” Weiss muttered, flexing her fingers, laying one on the remains of the Ice Dust crystal embedded in her sleeve._

“ _It’s time I got what I deserved.” Well if that wasn’t an invitation, Weiss didn’t know what was. Stopping short to allow the man to increase the distance between them, Weiss raised her hand, manifested a glyph and took aim. There was a sharp noise as the ice lance manifested and shot forth, spearing the unprepared thug through the back._

_He let out a scream of pain, looking down at where the spike must have partially exited his body. He made to grab at the ice but Weiss quickly flicked her hands and two glyphs manifested, ensnaring his wrists and leaving him trapped. Clenching her teeth to help keep the glyphs in place against the man’s not inconsiderable strength, Weiss stalked forward and stepped daintily around to look at the man properly._

“ _W-What have you done?” He choked out, blood starting to trickle from his mouth._

“ _You said it yourself, I’d do anything to protect Ruby.” She said coldly, examining the wound. Her aim had been a bit off, but it would suffice._

“ _You’ll pay for this, you bitch.” The man spluttered, the blood now gushing out_

“ _Hardly, you already told me no-one else knows what you’re doing, so I doubt you set up any form of contingencies. Of course you could’ve been lying, but I’m willing to take that risk.” Sweat was beading on her forehead, but his struggles were weakening as more and more blood spilled out._

_Finally, the light in his eyes behind the mask dimmed and he went limp, leaving Weiss in the alleyway, alone._

* * *

 

“I incinerated the body, I’ve had plenty of practice, and dumped the ashes in the harbour.” Weiss concluded, studiously avoiding Yang’s gaze, looking instead down at the hands that still felt as though they were coated in blood. A ridiculous delusion, she hadn’t gotten a speck of blood on herself. It didn’t stop the awful sticky feeling though, served her right for reading all those tragedies as a child.

“So what’s the problem? It’s been days and there’s been nothing in the news about you. You’re fine.” Weiss let out a dry, humourless chuckle.

“Yang, I killed a man in cold blood. I am anything but fine.”

“It was in self-defence or in defence of Ruby.”

“He was unarmed and his back was turned. Face it Yang, I’m a murderer.” Weiss said dully. “I don’t even know why I feel so guilty, it’s not like he was innocent. He was a member of the White Fang who personally tried to kill me and threatened Ruby.”

“Weiss, frankly I’d be more worried if you didn’t feel guilty over this.” Yang tried to reassure the heiress. “I still think you should’ve told us and maybe you wouldn’t have needed to resort to lethal force, but if I were in your position, I’d probably do the same thing.” She reached out to pat Weiss on the back, only for her to shy away. “So, what are you going to do now?”

“I’ve got an appointment with Ozpin later, I’m going to tell him what I know and hopefully he won’t dig too deeply. I’ll come up with something plausible for how I know the White Fang have plans and hopefully my guilt won’t crush me.”

“You’re not going to tell him about the guy?”

“I’ve destroyed all the evidence, there’s nothing tying me to his disappearance. All I have to do now is try to learn to live with myself and what I’ve done.”

“Well I won’t tell anyone and I’m sure the guilt will pass eventually. Just try not to do anything rash or keep up what you’ve been doing the last few days, the others will notice.” Weiss almost let out a bark of laughter, he she was with Yang discussing covering up a murder. It was ludicrous to say the least.

“Thank you Yang, I need to go meet Professor Ozpin now.” Weiss stood up from the desk and stretched out. “You know it does feel a little better having told you.”

“Yeah, woes shared are woes halved after all. Good luck with Ozpin.” Smiling faintly at Yang’s encouragement, Weiss strode away, burden a little lighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This... was not easy to write. I must've gone through half a dozen different iterations of Weiss' confession. One where she confesses to Blake, one where she's going to come clean to Ozpin and so on. But here it is, am I happy with it? Not really, but I'm never happy with my work. Anyway vol. 3 is coming in the next few chapters unless I suddenly think up another subplot to go in-between.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	46. Chapter 46

Over the next week, Weiss was just about able to distract herself with training and her remaining classes before the Vytal Festival officially began. Ozpin seemed to have bought her explanation of having spent some time in Faunus circles and hearing from them rumours of the White Fang’s plot. However he hadn’t seemed to be too concerned with her information, in fairness it was rather vague, and instead told her not to worry herself over it and enjoy the festival. Whilst she had no intention of repeating Blake’s self-destructive spiral, worry still gnawed away at the back of her mind.

At least the training was going well, Ruby had devised at least a dozen new team manoeuvrers, mainly for Weiss and Yang as they would be competing together in the doubles round. Her progress with the hand-to-hand was progressing well, Yang had finally deemed her at Ruby’s level and had the pair spar with each other. Unfortunately, she hadn’t foreseen what would actually happen, which was Weiss and Ruby flirting constantly during said sparring matches, much to the amusement of Blake who’d taken to sitting on the sidelines to read, not wanting to be left alone.

And yet, despite all the progress and general positivity, Weiss still couldn’t shake the feelings of guilt and uncleanliness that haunted her. She’d managed to curb her nigh-on obsessive hand washing, but the feeling of blood was still there. Not to mention the frequent nightmares she’d have, images of the man she’d murdered haunting her sleep often appearing and causing her to jolt awake in terror. Yang helped wherever she could, covering for Weiss whenever a dark mood would hit her and talking her through the nightmares. It actually got to the point where Weiss was worried Yang was taking too much upon herself again, but the blonde reassured her she was still seeing Professor Goodwitch and was tactful enough not to try suggesting Weiss try therapy again.

Soon enough, the first day of the Festival arrived and found Team RWBY stood together outside the fairgrounds watching as Professor Ozpin ascended the steps to a small raised platform.

“Welcome all, to the 40th Vytal Festival!” There was a smattering of applause, technically the festival had been going on for a few weeks now but it was traditional for the opening to take place the day before the tournament began. “We’re gathered here to celebrate both our unity and diversity. Vale has often been referred to as the melting pot of Remnant, a place where people from across the world would gather to share their culture and help build a place where all could be welcome.” Weiss heard Blake snort derisively at the Professor’s words.

“Yes, everyone’s welcome here in Vale.” She muttered darkly as Yang elbowed her gently in the side. Weiss couldn’t help but agree at least in part with Blake’s sentiment, having witnessed just how ‘welcoming’ some Valeans could be. Ruby also looked slightly awkward and threw a few glances at the pair of them as Ozpin continued his spiel about equality and inclusivity which she acknowledged with a grateful squeeze of the brunette’s hand.

“But I think I’ve talked enough for now. Please enjoy the Festival!” Professor Ozpin finished his announcement to more applause as he stepped down from the platform and vanished into the crowds.

“So, what are we going to do first?” Yang asked the group as they followed the rest of the crowd into the main fairgrounds area.

“I wanna eat all the food!” Ruby chirped, already starting to meander away towards the food stands.

“Maybe we should try that later when it’s closer to lunch, I don’t want you to spoil your appetite.” Weiss suggested gently, tugging Ruby back. “We could look at some of the craft stalls until then.”

“But princess, they’ve got snack food as well, funnel cakes and things!” Ruby wheedled, pulling at her girlfriend. “You’ve never had fair food before have you?” Weiss looked around in a minor panic in case someone overheard.

“No I haven’t, and what was it I said about calling me ‘princess’?” Weiss hissed, still glancing around.

“Not to call you that in public.” The brunette grumbled half-heartedly. “But Yang called you that all the time.”

“And Yang gave everyone a nickname so it’s not weird when she starts calling people weird names.” Weiss argued back as they continued towards the heart of the fair. “Besides, Yang’s forbidden from calling Blake ‘kitten’ in public as well.” Blake made an uncharacteristic squeak and flapped at Weiss.

“Don’t say stuff like that! Someone might realise.” She too began to look around furtively. “Even if they did know, it’s supposed to be demeaning for a Faunus to be called something like that.”

“Then why do you let Yang do it?” Ruby asked innocently, cocking her head at the cat Faunus.

“It doesn’t matter, I just like it.” Blake shrugged, face blazing.

“Okay Rubes, leave my girlfriend alone.” Yang instructed her sister sternly, placing an arm around Blake and steering her away towards a stand selling Valean style jewellery. Weiss glared enviously at the couple, brushing shoulders as Yang gestured animatedly at the pieces on display and Blake giggled along, making the most blatant heart-eyes Weiss had ever seen.

“You okay Weiss?” Ruby gently nudged the heiress, jolting her out of her jealous reverie.

“Yes, I’m fine.” Taking Ruby’s hand, she quickly led her away around the back of some stalls where no-one was able to see. “You know I love you liebling, even though I said we can’t be together in public.”

“Of course I do princess.” She cupped Weiss’ cheek softly. “You say it often enough.”

“I know, I know.” The white-haired girl mumbled sulkily.

“Is this about Blake and Yang?” Ruby asked shrewdly, poking her head around the side of the stall to look at the couple, Blake now modelling a jet necklace for Yang.

“No! Not exactly...” Weiss’ hand instinctively rose to clasp her bicep. “So maybe I’m a bit jealous of them.”

“But why?” Ruby looked back at her in confusion.

“Just look at them. I want to be able to be your girlfriend in front of everybody, to show them just how lucky I am to be yours.” She dropped her hand and instead reached out to take Ruby’s. “But I can’t, either I’m Weiss and I’m being scrutinised and one step out of line means the end for me or I’m disguised and people hate me and you because I’m a Faunus.”

“I know princess.” The younger girl took a step closer, forcing Weiss to look up a little to meet her eyes. “What we have is for us, not them. We do what we’re comfortable with and what we’re safe doing.”

“It’s not fair.” Weiss murmured, raising her forehead to rest against her girlfriend’s.

“You’re right, it’s not.” She agreed, pressing back gently. “But we make do princess, we make do.” After a moment, she leaned down and caught Weiss’ lips in a brief kiss, grinning mischievously as she pulled away and Weiss instinctively followed trying to maintain contact.

“Whatever did I do to deserve you, liebling?” The heiress sighed, resting her head on Ruby’s shoulder.

“I ask myself that every day.” She replied, nuzzling into Weiss’ hair. “You know, I love it when you call me ‘liebling’ in that accent.” The white-haired girl blushed deeply.

“Don’t say things like that.” She reprimanded, pulling away and pouting.

“Why not? It’s really cute princess.” Weiss only huffed in response.

“We should get back, Blake and Yang are probably looking for us.” Tugging insistently, she pulled Ruby back to the main path only to find a smirking Yang and Blake, the cat Faunus’ neck now adorned with the necklace she’d been looking at earlier.

“Have fun you two? Hope you didn’t get up to anything too bad back there.” Yang could not have sounded more smug as Weiss scowled up at her and was sorely tempted to stick ice cubes down the back of the blonde’s tank top whilst she slept.

“Yaaaaaaang! Don’t say stuff like that!” Ruby whined, pouting at her sister who only chuckled in response.

“Yeah, yeah. Come on lovebirds we’ve still got a lot of the fair to see.” And so Yang led the group away further down the trail.

The quartet spent the intervening time before lunch examining all the merchandise on offer. Weiss very much regretted going near the stall selling leather boots as it smelled like they’d come straight from the tannery. Blake had insisted on buying something for Yang in return for the necklace she kept toying with as they perused. To that end she found a purple bandanna which clashed horribly with Yang’s outfit but was apparently a replacement for a similar item lost during the fight with Torchwick and his Paladin.

Ruby didn’t buy anything, saving her money for food later, Weiss on the other hand found her mind wandering back to the jewellery stall from earlier. She’d gotten a glimpse of a few nice pieces, a particularly nice matched pair of rings had caught her attention and now she was scheming how to slip away from the others to inquire about them.

It was at lunch that the opportunity presented itself. Ruby was busy stuffing her adorable face with whatever greasy, deep-fried she could find, whilst Blake and Yang had gone for a more conservative hot dog although for some reason Yang saw fit to smother hers in onions of all things. Weiss was busy inspecting the food stalls, trying to find something palatable when a familiar, jarring voice called out to her.

“Hello friend Weiss!” Spinning around, Weiss was met with the beaming face of Penny right behind her.

“Ahh! Penny, please don’t do that!” She squawked in irritation.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” The odd girl apologised, hands folding behind her back and head ducking in a rather stiff demonstration of contrition.

“It’s alright. Are you here with your team?”

“Oh yes, but I appear to have lost them.” Again Penny’s actions felt forced and almost scripted as she looked around. However, maybe Weiss could turn this to her advantage.

“Perhaps I could help you look for them?” She suggested innocently.

“Oh would you? That would be absolutely fantastic!” Penny shouted in delight before wrapping Weiss in a bone-crushing hug that rivalled Yang’s.

“No… Problem...” She managed to choke out before she was released. “I’ll just tell my teammates.” Skittering away rather quickly, Weiss made her way to the table the rest of Team RWBY were sat at.

“Hey Weiss, you find something yet?”

“No, not yet. I just ran into Penny and she needs some help finding her teammates.”

“Oh, shall I come with?” Ruby offered as she finished licking her fingers clean of grease.

“That shouldn’t be necessary.” Weiss answered quickly, earning her a look from Yang. “I’ll be back shortly.”

“Okay then!” Ruby chirped, and set upon her next item of food. Smirking in victory, Weiss walked back over to the waiting Penny.

“Right, where did you see your team last?”

“We were in the main section with all the stalls.” Penny exclaimed a little too happily for Weiss’ liking, this was perfect though.

“Excellent, let’s go then.” Weiss led the strange girl out of the mini food court and back to the main thoroughfare.

“Why are you doing this for me Weiss? I know you don’t like me.” Penny asked as they walked, making Weiss freeze in place only for the red head to bump into the back of her.

“I-I don’t know what you mean.” She stammered out, starting to walk again, a little faster now as though she could outpace the awkwardness.

“Whenever we meet you always avoid eye contact and you become rather restless.” The sound of Penny’s reasoning grated on the heiress’ nerves, but she wasn’t wrong. Sighing deeply, she turned to face her companion.

“I don’t like you, I don’t quite know what it is, there’s just something about the way you speak and act I find deeply unsettling.” Penny’s head drooped in yet another oddly executed gesture.

“I see… Thank you for being honest.”

“But you’re Ruby’s friend and as her girlfr- _partner_ I should make an effort.” Weiss admitted. “Also I wanted to get away from my team for a bit so I could get something. I’m sorry for using you as an excuse like that.”

“It’s alright.” Penny replied, still looking slightly downcast.

“No, it’s not.” Weiss insisted, placing her hands firmly on Penny’s shoulders. “You have been nothing but nice and polite to me since we met and you haven’t deserved the way I treated you, I was jealous and I let my discomfort colour my interactions with you.”

“Well I forgive you then!” Penny chirped cheerfully, removing Weiss’ hands and stepping around her to continue on the way. “Why were you jealous though?” Suddenly, she clapped her hands to her mouth in an exaggerated show of shock. “Were you jealous of me and Ruby because you’re dating each other?”

“What!? No!” Weiss tried to deny the accusation. “I don’t like Ruby like that!”

“Yes you do. Whenever you see her your pupils dilate and your heart rate increases, not to mention the increased blood flow to your cheeks and-”

“Okay fine.” Weiss quickly cut off Penny before she could say any more. “Yes Ruby and I are dating, but no-one is supposed to know. If people find out, it would give Jacques Schnee an excuse to disinherit me.”

“I see.” Suddenly Penny’s eyes lit up. “Are you getting something secret for Ruby? Is that why you wanted to get away?”

“I, uh, yes.” She answered lamely. “I saw a set of paired rings at the jewellery stand, I thought Ruby would appreciate them.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” And with that Penny grabbed onto Weiss’ wrist and hauled her away to the stall.

When they arrived, Weiss was bent double, trying to catch her breath whilst Penny eagerly looked over the items on display.

“Ooh, is it these ones?” Penny tugged at Weiss’ sleeve and pointed enthusiastically at a pair of plain gold bands.

“Not those ones, this pair.” Weiss pointed out a pair of gold and silver rings with an interlocking heart and gestured for the old man running the stall.

“Oh wow, they look so pretty!” Penny gushed as the man unlocked the case to let Weiss get a better look. They were perfect, they weren’t too bulky to get in the way when fighting and the label promised that they were highly durable and able to withstand Grimm entrails. They were however, rather expensive, but they were worth it, Ruby was worth it. Smiling politely, she passed her card over to the man to run her purchase as she turned the rings over and over, examining them from every angle. Soon the man returned and Weiss was now the proud owner of the ring.

“Thank you for coming with me Penny.” Weiss said as the pair began to walk away.

“Oh it was no problem at all.”

“We should probably find your teammates now.” Weiss started looking around for anyone who looked obviously Atlesian.

“Oh it’s no trouble, I can find them on my own. You should get back to your team, I’m sure Ruby must be wondering where you are.” And with a cheery wave, Penny skipped away into the crowd, leaving Weiss to slowly make her way back to the food area. The rings weighing heavily in her jacket pocket, yet Weiss hadn’t felt this light in days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay fluff, lots of fluff and stuff before the volume kicks off. And gee, I wonder what Weiss is going to do with those rings. Important announcement, I'm taking the briefest of hiatuses, there'll be no new chapter this week or next Monday. The reason for this is two-fold, one: I want to take a break before I burn myself out or something and two: it's Magicfest this weekend which means I've got no time to really write over the weekend and I have a cosplay to finish.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	47. Chapter 47

Ruby had insisted they all try to relax that afternoon before the tournament started. They didn’t know exactly when they’d be called on to fight, the whole process being randomised, but they knew it would either be tomorrow or the day after. Weiss was trying to calm her nerves by reading back her notes for Oobleck’s history exam after the tournament was over. Yang had scoffed at this as a relaxing activity but Weiss begged to disagree. There was something immensely soothing about ordering her thoughts like this. And besides, it took her mind off the upcoming fight and the last time she’d committed an act of violence.

For once, Blake and Yang weren’t entwined in each other’s arms, at Yang’s insistence they were instead on their own bunks. Yang playing a game on her scroll and Blake reading a book, what a surprise. Weiss leaned back in her chair and looked up at Ruby’s bunk where her girlfriend lay, bopping her head to some tune playing through her headphones. Weiss did wonder whether there was a store in Vale that offered services to hunters, putting their sigils onto whatever they wanted. Nora had her shirt and Ruby had her headphones and pyjamas. Maybe Weiss could look into getting something other than her clothes embossed with the Schnee crest. Although would she really want to further associate herself with a symbol that had become something synonymous with hatred for her own people?

Sighing softly, Weiss returned to her notes, however her train of thought had been broken and she couldn’t help but glance again up at Ruby. The rings she’d bought earlier safely concealed in their box in her jacket’s pocket. She’d need to find a safer place to put it sometime when she was alone. For now though, she found herself captivated by her girlfriend’s bobbing and swaying as she shuffled to her silent rhythm. The sight suddenly gave Weiss an idea.

“Do you two mind if I put some music on?” Weiss asked the other couple across the room. Yang just shrugged whilst Blake fixed her with a curious stare.

“So long as it’s not too loud.” She agreed, returning to her novel. Restraining herself from hopping in joy a little, Weiss grabbed her scroll and began hunting through the small amount of music she had. There it was! Cueing up the piece, a familiar tune began playing out of the not-so-great speakers of her scroll. Both Blake and Yang looked up in surprise, both recognising the music as Weiss approached Ruby and tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

“Yes Weiss?” She asked, pulling off the headphones then cocking her head curiously at the music now playing.

“It just occurred to me, we never got to dance together that night.” Weiss stepped back a little and offered a hand to the younger girl. “So please Miss Rose, may I have the honour of this dance.” She tried desperately not to blush as Ruby squeaked in surprise and Yang snorted behind her.

“Ye-Yes of course!” Ruby hastily scrambled off her bunk and onto the floor, accepting Weiss’ outstretched hand. “I don’t really know how to dance though.”

“I can teach you, though I’m afraid I only know how to follow.” The heiress replied smoothly taking Ruby’s free hand and placing it at her waist and bring hers up to rest upon Ruby’s shoulder. “So you step forward with your right foot, then bring your left forwards and out like that, Ow!” Weiss winced as Ruby trod on her left foot.

“Sorry!” She squeaked hopping back.

“It’s okay, let’s try again.” Weiss insisted, studiously ignoring the chuckles emanating from Yang’s bunk. She replaced her hands and Ruby did the same. “Now, same as before, right foot forward, left foot forwards and out to the side, like that. Now bring the right foot forward to meet it.” The heiress guided her partner through the steps, narrowly avoiding having her feet stepped on again. “Great! Now you do what I did, step back with your right foot an-”

Eager to follow her girlfriend’s direction Ruby had already started and pulled Weiss off-balance and causing the pair to collapse onto Weiss’ bunk. They stayed like that for a moment, Weiss laying atop Ruby, wings sprawled out over the pair. Then Ruby started giggling, followed shortly by Weiss who tried to stifle the snorts of laughter but utterly failed.

“Sorry princess, guess I’m not too great at dancing huh?” Ruby managed to splutter out around her giggles.

“You were a perfectly lovely dancer liebling.” Weiss smiled down at the brunette as she pulled herself up a little to look at her properly. She was gorgeous, her short hair splayed out across the sheets, silver eyes sparkling with joy. Ruby was perfect, everything was perfect, Weiss’ eyes flickered over to the coat stand and with it, her jacket and the small box held within.

“Ruby I-.” She began, but was interrupted by the music getting cut off by a loud buzzing. Scrambling to her feet, Weiss snatched up to see what the interruption was and felt her heart sink when she saw the caller ID: Father.

“Who is it Weiss?” Ruby asked, sitting up.

“No-one important.” She replied shortly, finger stabbing at the reject call button, before going to her contacts and resolutely changing the name to ‘Jacques Schnee’ before setting her scroll to silent. The moment was gone though, tainted by thoughts of the Schnee patriarch.

“Ya know, maybe it’s a good thing you got interrupted.” Yang drawled from above, making Weiss jump. She’d completely forgotten Blake and Yang were there, dear gods she’d been about to- in front of Ruby’s sister! Weiss fought a dark blush as Yang continued. “I hate to think what you were going to do next.”

“Yaaaaaaang! Don’t say stuff like that!” Ruby whined, glaring up at her sister who could only snicker in response. Blake meanwhile, was eyeing Weiss curiously.

“You sure it wasn’t important Weiss?” She asked, concern etched across her face.

“Like I said, no-one important.” Weiss reiterated, locking her scroll and replacing it on her desk.

“If you say so...” Blake didn’t even bother hiding the scepticism in her voice, but was at least gracious enough not to follow it up.

“Anyway, it’s getting close to dinner, shall we go to the dining hall or brave the fairgrounds again?” Weiss asked the group, silently praying they’d choose the dining hall.

“Hold on! What time is it?” Weiss and Blake winced at Ruby’s shout as she scrambled back up to her bunk to grab her scroll. “Ack, I’m late!” The brunette practically threw herself back off her bunk and began scrabbling around grabbing some clothes out of her drawers and tossing them into a bag.

“Ruby, what on Remnant are you doing?” Weiss asked, neatly sidestepping as Ruby charged past into the bathroom.

“The last airship to Patch leaves in fifteen minutes!” She called back as she swept her toiletries int the bag as well.

“Wait, you’re doing that today? It’s the tournament tomorrow!” Yang asked incredulously.

“No time before today, oh Weiss! You need to get ready as well!” The whirlwind that was Ruby sped past Weiss depositing a bag in her hands.

“You still haven’t explained yet.” Weiss stated flatly, not moving an inch.

“Okaysoit’sbeenareallylongtimesinceI’veseenmymomandIwantedtotalktoherbeforethetournamentandalsoseedadandZweibutIalsowantedtointroduceyouasmygirlfriendtomomanddadsowillyoupleasecomewithme?” The words spilled out too fast for Weiss to understand as Ruby rifled through Weiss’ drawers and dropped a change of clothes into the bag she was holding.

“Sorry, I did not understand a word of that.”

“Just, could you come with me please? It’ll mean a lot.” Ruby pleaded, eyes widening into her puppy dog stare. Gods damn that girl and her freakish adorableness.

“Fine, let me get my toiletries, why do we even need this stuff?” Weiss acquiesced, walking into the bathroom and collecting her things.

“We’ll stay overnight at dad’s place and come back tomorrow morning well-rested for the tournament.” Ruby chirped, slinging her bag over her shoulders and fetching Weiss’ coat.

“I see.” Weiss emerged from the bathroom, glancing over at Blake and Yang as she took her jacket with a grateful smile and pulled it on. “Will you two be alright without us for the evening?”

“We’ll be fine Weiss.” Blake smiled softly. “Just go and have a good time with Ruby.”

“Yeah, just don’t do anything I’d do.” Yang called down, Weiss couldn’t resist, the set-up was too good.

“Are you giving us your blessing to sleep with each other then?” Weiss smirked impishly as Yang squawked in surprise.

“I what?”

“You did tell them not to do anything you’d do and sex is something you wouldn’t do.” Blake stated blithely, turning another page of her book.

“Weiss! Stop messing with Yang, We’ve gotta go!” Ruby cried out, face burning red as she grabbed her girlfriend’s arm and hauled her out of the room.

* * *

 

“You’re not nervous are you Weiss?” Ruby asked as the airship began its descent.

“Me nervous? Never.” Weiss replied, foot tapping incessantly on the floor. Ruby had explained further once they’d gotten on the airship and Weiss wondered what she’d signed up for. Meeting your partner’s parents was a big step, Ruby hadn’t really talked about them very much, just that her father was about the best she could’ve asked for and that fact made Weiss more than a little jealous.

“I’m sorry I kind of sprang this on you like that, if you want I can just introduce you as my partner.” Ruby reassured her girlfriend as the airship touched down.

“No no, it’s fine. I want them to know I’m your girlfriend.” Weiss said resolutely as they rose from their seats and climbed out onto the landing pad.

“Ruby! Over here!” A voice called out accompanied by excited yapping.

“Dad!” Ruby shrieked with joy, shooting over to the man who called out leaving behind a trail of rose petals whilst Weiss followed at a more sedate pace. Seeing Ruby and Yang’s father, Weiss could definitely see where Yang’s hair and Ruby’s beaming smile came from. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too Ruby.” Her father smiled down at his daughter whilst Zwei barked happily, scampering around their ankles, until he noticed Weiss where upon he abandoned his efforts to instead bother the heiress. “And who might this be?” The blonde man asked, straightening up to look properly at this newcomer. Obviously he knew who she was, but clearly wanted Ruby to introduce them properly.

“Dad, this is Weiss, Weiss Schnee. She’s my partner at Beacon and uh...” Ruby hesitated for a moment, eyes flashing to Weiss for approval, which she gave with a small nod as she petted Zwei. “She’s my girlfriend.”

“Is that so?” Ruby’s father gave her a hard look, before looking back down at Ruby, smirking in a way that reminded Weiss so much of Yang and ruffling her hair. “So what happened to my daughter who told me before she left for Beacon she was ‘straight as an arrow’?”

“Daaaaaaaaaaaad! Don’t say stuff like that!” She whined, ducking away and trying to settle her hair. “I didn’t know okay?”

“Sorry Ruby, you know I can’t resist teasing sometimes.” He smiled easily and Ruby just pouted up at him in mock hurt until he turned his attention to Weiss. “So, this is the lady who caught my little girl’s eye huh?”

“Yes sir, Weiss Schnee. It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr Rose.” Weiss stepped forward and stuck her hand out stiffly. Her words however were met with a wince from Ruby and a quick glance at her from her father.

“It’s Xiao Long actually. In fact please just call me Taiyang, or Tai even.” Weiss winced, Taiyang’s words were perfectly pleasant and there was no accusation in his gleaming eyes as he took her hand, but Weiss couldn’t help but feel she’d committed a massive faux pas.

“Of course Mr Xiao Long, my apologies.” Weiss shook his hand briefly before stepping back a little, still slightly flushed from her mistake.

“She’s very formal isn’t she?” Taiyang addressed Ruby who just shrugged.

“She’s from Atlas.” Was her only explanation which seemed to satisfy her father who burst out laughing.

“I suppose that’s one reason. Come on, let’s get you two back to the house, there’s a stew on the go.” He led the way towards what looked to be a rather old and beat up car.

“Thank you for letting me stay Mr Xiao Long, I hope I’m not imposing.” Weiss spoke up, her instincts to be a polite guest surfacing again.

“Trust me, it’s no imposition at all. Anything for a friend of Ruby’s. But please don’t call me ‘Mr Xiao Long’.” Taiyang told her as they climbed into the car, Zwei crawling onto Weiss’ lap for more attention.

The drive through the forests of Patch was unlike anything Weiss had experienced, there was so much green here unlike Atlas. She wondered what it was like for Ruby, growing up here, everything seemed so peaceful.

Before long they pulled up outside a large wooden cabin and climbed out, Weiss stopping for a moment to look up at the house Ruby grew up in.

“Good isn’t it? Built it with my own two hands, no help needed.” Tai told her cheerfully, ignoring Ruby’s sudden and suspicious coughing fit during which Weiss could sworn she heard her say something about crows. Tai kept talking as he led the way into the house. “Now I must insist that you and Weiss sleep in separate rooms whilst you’re here, don’t want you two getting up to anything.”

“Dad! Ew, we’re not doing anything like that! And we share a room already.” Ruby screeched whilst Weiss just spluttered wordlessly.

“A room you share with your sister and her partner. Besides, my house, my rules. Weiss can sleep in the guest room.” Tai insisted, turning to face the couple and noticing Weiss’ flushed face, jumped immediately to the wrong conclusion. “Weiss you must be boiling, why don’t you take that jacket off?” He reached out as if to take it, only for Weiss to hop back in fear.

“Weiss, it’s okay. You’re safe here” Ruby was immediately by Weiss’ side, rubbing comforting circles in the small of her back.

“You’re sure?” Weiss asked nervously, gaze flickering to Tai who just looked on in confusion.

“It’s just my dad, you’re safe.” The brunette reassured her. After a moment, Weiss nodded and slowly shed her jacket, letting her wings flex and unfurl. To his credit, Taiyang’s face barely registered any surprise beside a slight widening of his eyes.

“Ah, I’ve got to say I was not expecting that.” He said as he watched Ruby attend to Weiss’ wings briefly, straightening out any feathers that were displaced.

“Yes, most people seem to have that reaction.” Weiss commented wryly, joining Ruby in the straightening of feathers. “Just once I’d like for someone to faint or something equally dramatic. Anyway, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone about this Mr Xiao Long.”

“On one condition: please call me Tai.” He practically begged the heiress.

“Very well, I accept your condition...” Weiss struggled for a moment before finally settling on: “Mr Taiyang.” He just sighed in resigned amusement at this.

“I suppose it’s a start. I’ll let you girls get settled, dinner will be ready in about ten minutes.”

“Okay dad!” Ruby chirped and grabbed Weiss’ hand and pulled her away and up the stairs. She led her partner down the hall overlooking the living room and to one of the non-descript doors.

“This is mine and Yang’s room.” She announced proudly, flinging open the door. The room was a lot smaller than Weiss’ back at Schnee manor, a point in its favour Weiss thought. Two single beds were pushed up against the far wall with a window set into each of the two side walls. There were shelves and a desk and even though the room had clearly been unoccupied for months, it still felt lived in. Weiss’ attention was then drawn to some markings on the door frame. Peering down at them whilst Ruby started pulling clothing out of her bag, she saw they were height markers, yellow for Yang and red for Ruby with their name and a date inscribed beside them. Something else she noticed closer to the floor was that several of the red marks had had the name scratched out.

“Yeah, that was me.” Ruby piped up, looking over at what Weiss was inspecting. “I didn’t want any reminders ya know. I made dad get rid of all the photos he had of me before, he even went and got my name changed on the official records a few years ago.”

“How’d he take it?” Weiss straightened up, to face Ruby properly.

“Really well actually, so did mom. I was maybe four when they asked me whether I wanted to be a big strong huntsman like dad and I told them I hated being called a boy. Mom just laughed and asked whether I was going to be her brave little huntress instead.” Tears sparkled a little in Ruby’s eyes as she spoke, though Weiss didn’t know why. “Then she made me my first cloak, just like hers because I wanted to grow up to be like her.” Weiss’ eyes were stinging as well and she swiped at them.

“Is that what it’s like? Having parents who care about you?” She asked, tears choking her voice a little only to immediately be wrapped in a tight hug from Ruby.

“Oh Weiss...” She murmured, stroking her wing as Weiss sniffed.

“I never got to know my father, you can hardly call Jacques Schnee that either and my mother spends her days drinking herself into a stupor. Sometimes I don’t think she even remembers she has any children at all.” Weiss buried her face into the crook of Ruby’s neck. “But you grew up surrounded by so much love, Yang, your father and your mother. All of them.”

“You have that now as well princess, you’ve got me and Yang and Blake. We’re your family now and we all love you to bits.” The brunette said softly, stroking Weiss’ hair. They stayed like that for a while longer until Taiyang called them down to dinner.

Despite having fewer attendees than dinner at Schnee manor, it was so much livelier. Ruby would recount tales of their exploits to her father, Weiss would tell him about their studies and how much Ruby had improved in exchange for a few choice pictures of Yang in pigtails, including one where she posed with a little red cart.

“She used to love that thing.” Taiyang had reminisced fondly. “Took it everywhere with her. Then one day she just decided she didn’t want it any more, refused to even look at it.” Ruby’s expression dropped a little at this story, but perked up again at a photo of Yang dangling from a tree by the ankles, tied up with what looked like a skipping rope.

All throughout the dinner, Weiss just basked in the atmosphere, but all too soon the meal ended an Taiyang insisted they get some rest before the tournament tomorrow and he’d take care of the dishes. As the couple ascended the stairs and Ruby directed Weiss to the guest room, a thought crossed her mind.

“Are we not seeing your mother tonight Ruby?” She asked from the threshold just before Ruby could enter her room.

“No, we’ll see her in the morning before we go back.” Ruby looked oddly down when she said this and it felt like Weiss was missing something. But that could wait for another time, so for now Weiss stepped forward and gave Ruby a hug.

“Goodnight liebling.” She whispered, planting a soft kiss on Ruby’s lips.

“Goodnight princess.” The brunette replied softly, chasing Weiss’ retreating lips with a kiss of her own. “Sleep well.” And with that, the two parted and Weiss settled down in the guest room. This was the first time in months she and Ruby hadn’t slept in the same room as one another and already she felt the loneliness closing in. The silence was unnerving as she got changed and climbed into bed. Just as she was getting comfortable her scroll started buzzing insistently. Fearing the worst, Weiss picked up the scroll to see what it was and was pleasantly surprised to see, instead of Jacques Schnee’s caller ID, a message from Winter. Eagerly opening up the message Weiss read through the missive.

‘Dearest Weiss, my apologies for the short notice but I was only just informed my request for leave had been approved. I shall be attending the Vytal Festival tomorrow. I look forward to seeing you again in person, we have a lot to talk about.’

A jolt of nervous excitement shot through Weiss, her sister was coming tomorrow. Maybe now they could finally bury any ill feelings that remained after the revelations. Smiling to herself, Weiss settled back down and despite the absence of Ruby managed to drift off to sleep.

* * *

 

As Weiss, Ruby and Taiyang trudged up the path into the hills, Weiss wondered exactly why Ruby’s mother lived so far away. She’d woken up to the very welcome sight of Ruby curled up beside her, when asked the younger girl had insisted that she’d been worried Weiss was cold and Weiss wasn’t in any mood to try to disprove that. They’d been walking for about half an hour and Ruby had been unusually quiet throughout the walk, leaving her hood up as they went.

Eventually the three plus Zwei emerged onto a clearing at the edge of a cliff, but there didn’t seem to be a house or anywhere someone might live.

Then she saw the stone set in the ground near the cliff edge that Ruby approached. Understanding bloomed in Weiss’ mind as she put the pieces together, promptly muted by a sense of melancholy as she watched Ruby lower her hood.

“I’ll leave you two to it.” Taiyang said quietly and, whistling for Zwei, he retreated down the path. Unsure as to whether she should approach, Weiss hovered awkwardly several metres back, unwilling to intrude on Ruby’s moment.

“Hey Mom, sorry I haven’t come by in a while, thing have been well, busy doesn’t really cover it.” Ruby’s voice drifted back to Weiss on the wind. “Dad’s here, somewhere. He’s still dad, still teaching at Signal and he’s going on a mission soon.” A pause and a stifled sniffle. “I think he misses going on adventures with you. I miss you too.” Another silence, broken only by a few more sniffs. “I haven’t gotten kicked out of Beacon yet!” Weiss knew Ruby well enough to recognise false cheer when she heard it. “So that’s great, I think being on a team with Yang helps. Means I can keep her in line.” There was a watery chuckle and Weiss had to resist the urge to run over to comfort her girlfriend.

“Oh, there’s someone I want you to meet.” Ruby turned and gestured to Weiss who approached quietly until she stood beside the brunette and could read the inscription on the stone.

‘ _Summer Rose’_

‘ _Thus I kindly scatter’_

“This is Weiss, she’s my partner at Beacon and she’s my girlfriend.” Weiss smiled encouragingly at Ruby. “She’s the best, she’s so smart and pretty.” She blushed at Ruby’s praise. “I really like her a-and I wish you could meet her properly because I know you’d like her as well.” Weiss reached out and took Ruby’s hand, squeezing it gently. “I’ve made lots of other friends as well! Like Blake, she’s all cool and mysterious but I like it about her. Yang likes it more though. Maybe she’ll come here sometime.” Ruby fell silent once more, and Weiss could now see she appeared to be collecting her thoughts.

“Oh, we beat some bad guys too, you know what they say: ‘Like mother, like daughter’. I just don’t get why people would want to do bad things like that. Isn’t there enough misery with the Grimm? But I guess without them Ozpin wouldn’t have let me into Beacon early. I still wonder why he did that, but I guess he’ll tell me eventually.” Ruby’s words were interrupted by a bark and Weiss turned to look at the forest where Taiyang and Zwei stood, waiting for them to finish.

“Dad’s back, he’s giving me and Weiss a lift back to Beacon before the tournament before he goes on his mission. Wish us luck!” Ruby dropped Weiss’ hand briefly to pull her hood back up before taking it again and started to leave.

“It was good to talk.”

The couple slowly followed Taiyang at a distance as he led the way back to the house.

“Thank you Ruby, for bringing me to meet your mother.” Weiss said softly. “I hope she’d have approved of me dating her daughter.”

“Of course she would, she really would have liked you.” Ruby sniffed a little and wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve. “Right, enough sad thoughts.” She smiled down at Weiss. “We have a tournament to win!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! With a longer chapter than usual too! There's a lot of stuff I'd like to say about this chapter, but it'll be spoilery for later.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	48. Chapter 48

“Okay, we’re ready for this, right girls?” Ruby asked her team, checking her scope one last time.

“We’ve been training for months sis, don’t worry we got this.” Yang reassured her as she finished loading her gauntlets.

“Everyone knows what they’ve got to do right?” Weiss nervously clicked through the barrels of Myrtenaster.

“Yes Weiss, you did drill us on yours and Ruby’s plan as we walked here.” Yang answered with a hint of exasperation.

“Team ABRN are second years from Haven, they’re primarily close-range fighters with the exception of Nadir who uses an SMG.” Blake recited drily, testing the knot of her ribbon on her wrist. “Their leader Arslan is strong, so you want Yang to keep her busy whilst we rotate through the other three.” Weiss nodded, pleased her reconnaissance hadn’t been in vain.

“That’s right, Arslan’s a lot stronger than she looks so Yang’s the only one who can really go toe-to-toe.” Ruby chipped in, satisfied with the sighting on Crescent Rose. “Be careful of Reese too, she’s got that cool hoverboard thing so she’ll be extra manoeuvrable and quick.”

“She’s still using her primary mode of transportation as her weapon, any time she uses it to fight she has to sacrifice that mobility.” Weiss scoffed. “We all know how that works out for Jade.”

“Don’t underestimate our opponents Weiss.” Blake warned. “They’re still second years so they’ve got more training than us. Did you have anything on Bolin? Neither of you mentioned anything about him on the way over.”

“Nothing, sorry. I haven’t seen him in any of the training bouts and he seems to keep to himself.” The white-haired girl grumbled.

“It’s fine, we’re plenty prepared.” Yang stated confidently as a voice crackled over the speakers.

“Would Team RWBY and Team ABRN please make their way into the arena!”

“Okay, this is it. Good luck girls!” Ruby chirped, excitement gleaming in her eyes as she led the group out into the bright sunlight of the arena. A wall of noise slammed into them as the previously muted cheers of the crowd became properly audible. Off in the near distance Weiss saw another four figures making their way across the sand to the metal octagon set in the centre. Before long the eight teens stood facing off, sizing each other up, Yang and Arslan in particular were stood opposite one another, Yang towering over the other girl.

“Team RWBY versus Team ABRN!” Professor Port announced over the speakers and both teams readied themselves, Weiss swinging Myrtenaster up into her favoured en garde, hilt beside her right ear, point directed at Nadir. Holographic screens blinked into existence, displaying a spinning wheel that eventually settled on what looked like an iceberg behind team RWBY as Weiss briefly glanced back to confirm the terrain and a volcano behind Team ABRN. This would really be too easy now, manipulating existing ice was far easier and less aura intensive that conjuring it from pure dust as she usually did.

“3… 2… 1…” Weiss tensed, first thing she wanted to do was guide the other team into the ice sector. “Begin!” At the word both teams sprang into action. Weiss was just that much quicker than Nadir, hitting him with a swift strike and knocking him back into the lava field. She elected not to press the advantage, instead turning her attention to Bolin who was forcing Ruby back with several quick blows from his staff. Darting up behind, Weiss raised her rapier to deliver a swift stab to his back when her blade faltered. Images of the White Fang member flashed across her vision as she stumbled to a halt, ears buzzing, starting to drown out the crowd.

“Weiss look out!” Blake’s voice broke through the noise just in time for Weiss to see Reese taking advantage of Weiss’ momentary distraction to launch her hoverboard at the heiress. She was just able to block the flying weapon but the impact jarred her arm and sent her skidding back into the ice field. The hoverboard bounced back and was caught by Reese who advanced on Weiss, spinning the board around to swipe again at the heiress who neatly sidestepped and replied with a few quick jabs that were only just parried.

She tried not to get too distracted by the roar of the crowd or the Professors’ commentary as she focused instead on keeping up her offense to stop Reese from regaining her mobility and instead forced her to keep blocking Weiss’ flurry of blows. Suddenly a hail of bullets slammed into the ground at Weiss’ feet forcing her to jump back and lose her balance a little on the ice. Reese tried to follow and press her advantage but Blake interposed herself and engaged the green-haired girl in close-combat.

Steadying herself on the slippery ground, Weiss looked around. Yang and Arslan were going at it whilst Blake had knocked Reese back into an impressive backflip that ended not so impressively with her landing on her tail bone and crumpling in pain. Ruby seemed to have regained the upper hand and was hammering into Bolin, knocking him away somewhere into the ice field whilst Nadir just stood in the middle of the ice looking indecisive over who he should be shooting at now.

His decision was made when there was a yell of pain and rage from Yang as she was sent smashing to the ground near his feet. Weiss was already moving to intervene when a shot cracked out, slamming into the Ice Dust at Nadir’s feet, freezing them in place and making him drop his gun.

“Got you back!” Ruby called out excitedly, not noticing Bolin slipping up behind her. Weiss quickly changed direction to intercept the boy as he announced his presence to Ruby.

“Who’s got yours?” If that wasn’t a perfect opportunity, Weiss didn’t know what was. Not giving herself time to think or doubt herself for attacking someone who was unaware, Weiss clicked the Gravity Dust chamber into place and summoned a glyph right beside Bolin. She jumped up and let its force carry her into a flying kick into the boy’s side, knocking him through the glyph and with a quick manipulation transferred its force to launch him even further out onto the lava field.

“My girlfr- I mean BFF!” Ruby cheered, correcting herself mid-sentence and grinned sheepishly as Weiss dropped her head into her hand.

“Whatever…” She groaned, leaping after Bolin and pretending not to notice Ruby’s fist pump and whispered cry of ‘nailed it!’. Summoning a glyph in front of the crouched Bolin, Weiss landed and smoothly pushed off, catching him off guard as he got to his feet slashing across his chest as she formed another glyph at an angle to backflip off. He was able block the overhead strike as she leaped over his head but was too off balance from blocking that he couldn’t follow up as Weiss stumbled on her landing.

A familiar cry sounded from behind her and thinking quickly, Weiss summoned another glyph for Ruby to springboard off of into a powerful overhead strike that Bolin was somehow able to block, despite the ground beneath him cracking. Growling in frustration and with another loud bang, Ruby launched herself backwards, landing perfect beside Weiss who readied her blade again.

Before she could take the initiative in this next phrase however, Bolin charged at the pair forcing Weiss to quickly change her strategy. Stepping forward and clicking the Ice Dust round, she summoned a volley of icicles and was about to launch them when the memory of blood dripping off an icy spike flashed through her mind. Shaking it off she hurled the shards at Bolin but her aim was off and he dodged past her easily. As he approached Ruby, she took a swing which he just leaped over and instead of attacking, he kept running.

“Whaaat!?” Ruby called out in indignation as Weiss chased after him but it was too late. He smashed one of the spires of Fire Dust jutting out of the ground and hurled it over to Reese who’d backed off momentarily from Blake and caught the thrown Dust, slamming it into her weapon. It was unusual to see weapons that could have direct Dust enhancements like that, but it was definitely effective as she shot off over to Nadir, melting the ice around his feet before going after Blake again.

Weiss had no time to pay attention though as she chased Bolin over into the ice where Nadir was collecting hi gun. Her pursuit was halted by another hail of gunfire which bounced of a hastily summoned glyph. Weiss spared a glance up at her aura displayed on the screen. Still at 90%, she could hardly believe how strong her aura was now. Before, a few hits would’ve taken her out by now as well as her liberal use of her semblance. Dismissing her glyph, Weiss ducked behind a pillar of ice as Professor Port’s voice boomed out.

“Ooh, a double whammy! Reese Chloris is eliminated by ring out and Aura level.” Weiss spared another glance up to see Reese’s aura drop but had to pull her attention back to the fight, ignoring Professor Oobleck’s poor attempt at a witty comment. She briefly saw Yang skate past, chasing after Arslan and Nadir performed an unnecessary flip to get Weiss back in his sights, trailed by Bolin. This had gone on long enough. Tapping her hand against the Gravity Dust embedded in her jacket Weiss hurled Bolin into Nadir knocking them both down as the chambers spun round to Wind Dust.

Stabbing Myrtenaster into the ground, a glyph manifested beneath the two boys, spinning into a whirlwind which picked the pair up and slammed them into each other as Weiss felt for the Ice Dust sewn into the jacket. Finding it, she slammed her hand into the ground, channelling its power to reshape the ice of the arena itself, forming a giant fist which reached up and grabbed to flying boys, imprisoning them in a large ball of ice which snapped away from the ground and began rolling. Hopefully it would simply roll them out of the arena and eliminate them very simply.

What she hadn’t counted on was Arslan breaking away from her chase by Yang and instead coming to a halt directly in the path of the rolling ball of ice. Weiss watched in fascination as she set her feet and as the ice bore down upon her, she stepped forward and slammed a palm into it, completely shattering it and freeing her teammates. Time for plan B then, or more accurately, plan Bee’s Schnees plus Ruby.

“Yang!” Weiss called over to her teammate who’d joined her and Blake close to the centre. Focusing again on the Ice Dust in her jacket, Weiss gestured and forced the ice of the arena into a large ice wall, perfect for skating on. Recognising what Weiss had planned, Yang launched herself forward, Ruby running to the end of the slide and Blake hurling Gambol over to her partner. Weiss watched in smug satisfaction as Blake hopped onto Ruby’s shoulders and the younger girl fired a quick shot to launch Blake towards the opposing team. She almost wished she was a bit closer to see their faces as Blake swung a screaming, glowing Yang forwards to slam a punch into the remaining members of Team ABRN, sending them flying into a wall and dropping all their auras to below the limit.

It felt like there was a moment of silence as the sounds of battle ended, then a buzzer sounded and the roar of the crowd came back in full force. They’d won, they’d actually won.

“And that’s the match! Team RWBY is victorious!” Professor Port announced as Weiss looked around at her teammates.

“We… did it?” She hadn’t doubted that they would, but the reality was still quite surprising. She turned to look at the rest of her team, Blake calm and collected as always, Yang looking incredibly smug as she dusted off her knuckles and Ruby who was practically vibrating with excitement.

“WE DID IIIIIIIIT!” She screamed, bouncing over to Weiss. “We won! Team RWBY’s going to the doubles!” She crowed.

“Yes we are, but maybe stop celebrating quite so much, it makes you look like a poor winner.” Weiss tried to calm her girlfriend down, leading her away back towards the changing room, Blake and Yang following.

“But it’s so amazing, we’re actually going through!” She squealed in delight, bouncing along. Weiss just rolled her eyes affectionately at her hyperactive partner.

“We gonna stay to watch some of the matches? Or shall we head down to the fair for a while?” Yang asked, collapsing her gauntlets and taking Gambol Shroud to stash in Blake’s locker.

“I vote for the fairgrounds, no-ones else we know is fighting until later and it’s getting close to lunch.” Weiss suggested, carefully storing Myretenaster and her jacket, switching it out for a less heavily armed one.

“Wow Weiss, I was not expecting you to forgo the chance to observe the enemy.” Yang teased, leaning up against a wall.

“Oh, ha ha.” Weiss laughed flatly. “We’ve spent weeks collating information about the other teams, I think we can afford to leave it.”

“Yeah! Let’s go to the fairgrounds!” Ruby gestured wildly, nearly smacking Weiss in the face. “Oops, sorry Weiss.”

“It’s fine Ruby, let’s go before your excitement gets the better of you and you hop off the edge or something. Why don’t they have safety railings on the coliseum anyway?” Weiss mused as they emerged from the combatant’s area and over towards one of the docked airships. In short order, the four were descending down to the outskirts of Beacon’s grounds and the edge of the fair. As they entered the grounds, Ruby appeared more and more lethargic.

“Is anyone else starving?” She moaning, hunching over and clutching her stomach. Yang chuckled as Weiss just rolled her eyes.

“I may have worked up an appetite.” Blake mentioned, cool as a cucumber, until her stomach let out a massive growl. Truth be told Weiss was feeling fairly peckish. The full Valean breakfast Taiyang had made Ruby and her that morning had been delicious, but after that fight, Weiss needed food.

“Good thing I know just the place.” Yang volunteered, leading the way.

“It’s not deep-fried is it?” Weiss asked before a familiar buzzed sounded from inside her jacket. Pulling it out she was very unpleasantly surprised to see ‘Jacques Schnee’ written in the caller ID. Annoyed, Weiss stabbed the reject button and stuffed the scroll back into her jacket, jogging to catch up with the rest of her team.

“Hey! It might be hard to eat without this.” A voice called out from behind them. Turning around, Ruby frantically patting at her clothes, they saw that green-haired girl who’d helped them arrest Torchwick holding out what looked to be Ruby’s wallet. “It’s good to see you Ruby.”

“Thanks Emerald, I guess I dropped it, girl pockets are the worst. Well actually they’re the best because they’re on girl clothes but they could make them bigger at least and now I’m rambling so I’ll be quiet now.” Weiss had to resist the urge to slap her palm against her face as she heard Ruby’s incredibly awkward speech.

“So what’s up Em?” Yang asked, walking over to Ruby.

“Oh ya know, the usual, we just came down from the stadium after watching your fight, you guys were pretty awesome.” Emerald smiled politely, setting Ruby blushing and Weiss glaring.

“Oh shut your face…” She mumbled bashfully and licks of an odd green feeling lapped at Weiss’ mind. Kind of like those times Ruby had run off with Penny.

“I heard your team made it to the next round as well.” Blake interjected over Ruby’s now incoherent babbling.

“Where are your teammates anyway?” Weiss asked, looking around.

“Oh Merc’s back there. I don’t know where the others are.” Emerald jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the other student who’d been at Torchwick’s arrest stood at the leather stall Weiss had inspected yesterday.

“Oh hey, why don’t we all get some victory food together!” Ruby chirped, seemingly over her bout of blushing.

“Oh wow, that’s so nice of you but my teammates are all kinda…” She glanced back at Mercury who was now sniffing one of the boots and discovered what Weiss had yesterday, before actually licking the thing. “weird. And really socially awkward.” Yeah Weiss could definitely see that.

“So yeah, Merc and I are headed for the doubles round. What about you guys?” Weiss narrowed her eyes at the cheerful Haven student, was she fishing for information?

“Well as leader of Team RWBY, I decided we should put it to a vote and we-.” Ruby began, before Weiss clamed a hand over her mouth.

“Ruby, Emerald doesn’t need to know about our long and incredibly complicated system for deciding who’s moving on to the doubles.” Weiss addressed Emerald as much as she did Ruby, the green-haired girl would know exactly what Weiss was doing, but it was too late for that to make much of a difference.

“It wasn’t difficult at all, we voted for me and you remember?” Yang spoke up helpfully and Weiss did not like the smug gleam that now shone in Emerald’s eyes.

“Well, if Mercury and I see you down the line, don’t think we’re gonna go easy on ya!” She teased, eyeing up Weiss with interest now.

“We wouldn’t want it any other way.” Yang shot back, grinning cockily.

“Well, we’re gonna go catch some more fights, see you around,” Emerald waved and turned to walk back to her teammate. Ruby finally managed to pry Weiss’ hand away from her mouth.

“Have fun!” She called out to the green-haired girl’s retreating back. “Weiss, what was that about?”

“Couldn’t you tell she was fishing for information?” Weiss scowled up at Yang. “And rather clumsily I might add.”

“Aww Weiss, she was just being friendly, not everyone’s plotting like you are.” Yang waved her hand in dismissal.

“No, I agree with Weiss, she wanted that information. What she actually wanted it for I don’t know, they’ve only got about a one in fifteen chance of facing up against you.” Blake said calmly as they continued on their way.

“Even if she was doing that.” Ruby huffed. “It would’ve ben rude not to answer.” The four fell silent for a while as Yang led them over to a stall with a sign reading ‘A Simple Wok’. It was an odd habit the four had picked up, living with each other for a few months, that they would unconsciously gravitate towards sitting in order. Yang waved to get the old man running the stall’s attention.

“I’d like a bowl of the regular, please.” She asked the man who swiftly scooped up a truly enormous bowl and dumped a mass of noodles and soup into it, sliding it over to Yang. Weiss could practically hear Ruby drooling from beside her as she looked over at Yang’s food.

“Ooh, Can I have the same please?” Another swift series of motions and an identical bowl was slid in front of the brunette. Weiss looked up and was disappointed that there didn’t appear to be a menu listed anywhere.

“Do you have anything with low-salt?” The man shook his head. “Um, Okay. I’ll have the same as well please.” The bowl was even larger when it was right in front of her.

“What do you want Blake?” Yang asked, looking to her girlfriend who shrank back minutely.

“I don’t know, why don’t you decide?” She said eventually refusing to meet the shopkeep’s expectant eye.

“Blake, come on please?” Yang implored, reaching over to take Blake’s hand. “Whatever you like.”

“If it’s price you’re worried about, it’s fine. I’ll get it.” Weiss suggested, only to quail under a sharp glare from Yang.

“That’s kind of you to offer Weiss, but I’d like to treat my girlfriend to lunch.” Weiss made to open her mouth to argue, but another glare from Yang convinced her to leave it. “So, what would you like Blake?”

After a few moments of hesitation, Blake finally spoke. “Fish, I’d like something with lots of fish.” Nodding in acknowledgement, the old man vanished into the back before emerging a few moments later with a bowl very similar to the others except it was piled high with several pieces of fish. Blake’s eyes seemed to light up as she regarded the bowl before her as Yang handed a card over to the shopkeep.

“Thank you, Yang.” She murmured quietly and received another squeeze from Yang.

“Hey, I told you, we’re partners and we agreed we’d work through these things together.” Weiss felt as though she was intruding on something important, but it wasn’t like she could just leave. Instead, she withdrew her own card and passed it over to the stall owner whilst pointedly not looking to her left.

“I’ve got it, don’t worry Ruby.” She intoned quietly to her girlfriend who was also reaching for her recently reacquired wallet. There was a sharp noise and Weiss looked up at the man who was clearing his throat and holding out her card.

“Oh thank you.” She reached out to take it, but the man then gestured to the till and the large red letters which spelled out ‘declined’. “What! But I was just into my monthly allowance!” She’d checked as well, the rings had cost a fair amount, but she knew she had more than enough money unless… “Jacques Schnee.” She spat out, with all the venom she could muster.

“What now?” Yang asked, having resurfaced from her moment with Blake.

“He’s gone and emptied my account, for leverage no doubt.” Weiss was almost shaking with rage at this. Well, she didn’t need him for that for now at least. Smirking viciously, she instead pulled out a different card and exchanged it with the man for the declined one. “He thinks he can force me to talk to him by cutting off my funds does he? He’ll have to try harder than that!”

“Uh, what’s that Weiss?” Ruby asked, glancing at the man busying himself at the till.

“That is my emergency funds. For the past few months I’ve been siphoning funds from my allowance in case something like this happened.” Weiss grinned with evil satisfaction as the man handed back her card with a smile.

“What? No, Weiss you shouldn’t use your emergency funds like this!” Ruby said, looking quite stricken.

“It’s a matter of principle now. Jacques Schnee thinks he can control me by controlling my finances, I have to prove him otherwise.” Weiss stated firmly, taking a pair of chopsticks and breaking them apart.

“Ruby has a point, you called them your emergency funds.” Blake pointed out, worry creeping into her voice which Weiss waved off.

“An inaccurate term for them by now, I’ve spent some time building up an investment portfolio, the returns from that are more than enough to support my studies at Beacon. Now can we eat, I’m rather hungry and I don’t want any more talk of that man ruining my lunch.” Weiss was about to dig in when someone called out to them.

“Mind if we join?” Weiss looked over and was pleased to see Pyrrha approaching along with the rest of her team.

“Pyrrha!” Ruby cried out joyfully.

“Of course you can.” Yang followed up, gesturing to the seats just around the corner from her which the four took, also settling in their team order.

“Anything you recommend?” Pyrrha asked, looking over at Yang’s food with interest.

“The noodle soup’s great, I mean it’s pretty much all they’ve got, but damn is it good.” Yang gushed, having now tired of waiting and starting to dig in to her bowl.

“Okay then, four please. I’ll get it and put that sponsorship money to use.” The red-head requested cheerfully and was rewarded with four bowls of noodles. For the next several minutes, the only sounds were that of slurping noodles and the occasional groan of pleasure from Nora as she demolished her food. All too soon, the bowls were empty and swiftly cleared away, leaving the eight teens in varying states of fullness and discomfort.

“Are you sure it was wise for us to eat before a fight, especially something that breaks with your diet?” Ren asked Pyrrha as he slumped a little in his seat.

“Of course it’s fine. The food will give us energy!” Pyrrha exclaimed, though she looked a little pained, probably at the memories of Ren’s unidentifiable green drinks.

“If I’m sick I’m blaming you.” Jaune moaned, slumped over the table in pain.

“Oooh, make sure to aim it at the enemy!” Okay, Nora was officially the most disgusting person Weiss had met, and Ren seemed to agree.

“Nora, that’s disgusting. But if you do feel the urge...” And Weiss stood corrected on Ren’s position.

“Well we should probably head off, our match starts soon.” Pyrrha stood up, ready to leave.

“You think you guys are ready?” Ruby asked, shooting a concerned look over at Jaune.

“Of course we are!” Nora interjected loudly. “We’ve got a world-renowned fighter, Ren’s basically a ninja, I can bench five of me and we’ve got Jaune! We’ve trained all year, our weapons are awesome, Glynda doesn’t yell at us any more and uhhhh… Jaune!” Weiss raised an eyebrow at Nora’s rather damning singling out of Jaune like that.

“You’re just gonna take that are you?” Ren asked, shooting Nora a look.

“I mean, she’s not wrong...” Jaune groaned, still collapsed across the table.

“Relax, I’m kidding, he knows I’m kidding. Don’t be so nervous, what’s worst that could happen? I mean other than us losing, having to spend several years of walking around school with everyone knowing we’re losers, our friends abandoning us to preserve their social status so we eventually won’t be able to show our faces in classes and then we’ll get kicked out and Ren and I have no parents so we’ll have nowhere to go and we’ll be officially renamed as Team Lose-iper, the worst team to ever try to attend Beacon!” Nora slumped dramatically across the table as well whilst Weiss tried to unpack Nora’s spiral of anxiety. Clearly there was a lot going on behind the usual fun persona Nora projected, The rest of Team RWBy were also giving her concerned looks.

“So yeah, in short, we’re doing fine.” Ren intoned, patting Nora on the back.

“Could Team JNPR please report to the battlegrounds immediately.” Professor Port’s voice came over the intercom set up around the fair.

“That’s us, wish us luck!” Pyrrha said, pulling Jaune to his feet as Ren did the same for Nora.

“Good luck!” Ruby called at the departing team. “We’re watching their match right?”

“We probably should to show our support. Sun’s team is right after them as well.” Blake informed the group, checking her scroll’s list of matches for the day.

“Have you seen Sun since that day?” Weiss asked tentatively, leaving the follow-up unsaid.

“A couple of times, Neptune hasn’t said anything about Ebony.” The heiress let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.

“Should we go then?” The others nodded in agreement and the four slowly wound their way back to the landing pads to head back up to the coliseum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, my hands slipped. There probably won't be a chapter on Monday, I'm just getting back into the swing of writing rather than sitting for hours just writing like I did for this chapter. We're very much into the start of volume 3 now and I'm a bit sad it's a decent chunk of canon in this chapter, but I'm looking forward to the next bits where I'm probably going to have to add a canon divergence tag to be totally accurate.
> 
> There's actually quite a lot that's been happening with Blake and Yang in the background when Weiss hasn't been looking and part of it's come to the forefront here a little bit. Really there's a lot that's also been happening, beyond the villain plot that is, the world doesn't stop existing just because Weiss isn't paying attention to it. 
> 
> As always comments and kudos are very much appreciated.


	49. Chapter 49

Having landed on the coliseum, Team RWBY made their way through the tunnels out into the stands and managed to find four unoccupied seats. They settled down as Team JNPR entered the arena, jogging to the centre to meet Team BRNZ.

“Team JNPR versus Team BRNZ!” Professor Port announced over the speakers as the teams readied themselves. Again the holographic screens appeared and began spinning wildly until they settled on a pine tree and a mountain with a lightning bolt. Oh, Team BRNZ wouldn’t know what hit them, if Jaune could actually take advantage of it. To be fair, from what Pyrrha had told her during a brief excursion to Vale to get her some proper food, he was greatly improved in his tactics and combat skills now. Although Weiss had yet to see whether this was true or just Pyrrha’s crush biasing her opinion. The arena biomes rose from the floor to surround the two teams as Port began his countdown.

“3… 2… 1...” It was hard to see from this distance the small movements Weiss would normally look for in a combatant, the tensing of muscles, eyes flickering to where they intended to go. But one fighter stood out, May Zedong’s stance was all wrong for someone about to charge the enemy, something was up.

“Begin!” Weiss’ suspicions were immediately proved correct as May turned tail and vanished into the trees whilst her team covered her flight. A short melee ensued, blows were traded with neither team gaining an advantage. That is until Weiss heard the familiar sharp retort of a sniper rifle echo and several rocks behind JNPR shattered under the impacts. She also heard the sharp excited gasp from beside her and decided to pre-empt the inevitable squealing excitement.

“No Ruby, no pestering other fighters about their weapons.” She told her girlfriend flatly.

“But Weeeeeeiss, you see how powerful it is? Just think how much faster I could be if I could upgrade my baby to that level?”

“I doubt it would do much Ruby. I don’t now much about the physics behind it, but I expect the fact you use Crescent Rose’s recoil to throw yourself around the battlefield, it requires a different construction to whatever May is using.” Ruby wilted in her seat a little as Jaune called for a retreat down below.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” She mumbled, looking dejected.

“Hey, even if you can’t upgrade Crescent Rose, I’m sure she’d be happy to tell you about her weapon.” The heiress tried to cheer up her partner which thankfully she did a little and returned her attention to the fight where JNPR had all broken from cover and were running erratically in the hopes of avoiding the sniper fire. That only seemed to help Team BRNZ though, Weiss winced as Ren was electrocuted trying to dodge May’s bullets, stunning him and sending him sprawling to the ground beside Nora.

“Ren!” Nora swung her hammer hard at Nolan, but it was going to swing wide. Nora was too good to miss an easy shot like that, evidently there was a _lot_ more to Nora than met the eye. She watched as Nolan stabbed Nora right in the gut with his cattle prod as she’d expected and watched the evil grin that grew on Nora’s face, so wide it could be seen clearly from the stands.

“Oh-ho! It looks like one of my favourite students, Nora Valkyrie is charging up her semblance!” Weiss, glanced away from the action up to the holographic screen where Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck were displayed.

“Yes, Ms. Valkyrie’s semblance allows her to produce and channel electricity straight to her muscles giving her the prodigious strength needed to wield her mighty hammer and use it to pummel her enemies like Nolan and send them flying!” Oobleck chipped in, Weiss had no idea why they were giving away Nora’s semblance like that. Most hunters liked to keep their semblances secret, it wasn’t much of an option for Weiss of course, since hers was a very visible semblance.

“What!?” Nolan’s shout of dismay was only just audible over the sounds of battle as he finally did the sensible thing and stopped shocking Nora and backed off in fear. It was far too late for him though, Nora swung and Nolan went flying, smashing through a boulder and lying motionless. A crackle of thunder caught Weiss’ attention and Jaune seemed to notice as well, gesturing at Nora who saluted him and started clambering up the rocks. Finally taking advantage of their surroundings her seemed to be saying something to Ren who slumped then ran towards the downed Nolan following Jaune and Pyrrha.

“Go Jaune!” Ruby cheered as he tanked two hits and kept running.

“He’s certainly improved.” Weiss commented approvingly, it seemed Pyrrha was right about him getting better, Jaune at the start of the year would’ve been knocked cold by a blow like that.

“Yeah, but he’s got nothing on Pyrrha.” Weiss couldn’t help but agree with Yang’s assessment, despite Jaune’s new fortitude, when he made it to the melee, Pyrrha was already taking on both combatants and making it look effortless. As she danced between the two, sweat sheened muscles rippling, Weiss wondered how she’d ever thought she was straight. So enraptured as she was by Pyrrha’s fighting, she completely missed Ren sliding through the fracas and taking Nolan hostage against the sniper until he called out a warning and Pyrrha broke away from the combat to be thrown into the air by Jaune and take a hit meant for Nora.

Weiss’ attention was brought back to Nora who’d finally reached the top of the mountain. Raising her hammer to act as a lightning rod, she was rewarded with a massive bolt of electricity and opened up the ammo compartment on Magnhild a function Weiss hadn’t seen before. The petite red head proceeded to launch a barrage of grenades that completely obliterated the area of forest May had been sniping from, forcing the girl to leapt out of the trees into the open. There was no let up from Nora though as she leapt down and slammed her hammer hard into the ground in front of the rest of Team BRNZ, throwing them back into May.

“This is it guys, it’s time to finish them with team attacks! Ren, Nora, flower power!” Jaune called out, pointing at the stunned opponents only for nothing to happen. So much for improved tactics.

“Are they doing what I think they’re doing?” Weiss groaned, looking on in incredulous fascination.

“Yes, they are. They’re having a team meeting.” Yang moaned in second hand embarrassment. This carried on for about a minute whilst Team BRNZ their bearings and looked on in confusion until one of them finally broke ranks.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!” He shouted at the still arguing Team JNPR and Jaune answered inaudibly.

“We’re in the middle of a fight!” Brawnz shouted back angrily.

“And we’re in the middle of a conversation! What’s so hard to understand about that!” Weiss recoiled slightly at Jaune’s yell, he was normally so soft-spoken. It seemed that Pyrrha calmed him down as he slumped in exasperation and gestured for Nora to do something. Before any of Team BRNZ could react, Nora leapt over in front of them and brought Magnhild in a powerful strike, knocking all four out of the arena to collide with the hardlight field protecting the audience.

“And Team JNPR win by knockout, literally!” Professor Port announced gleefully. “Could someone go check they’re okay?”

“Well, that wasn’t too bad...” Blake commented after they’d finished cheering Team JNPR off.

“I mean they won, but I wouldn’t exactly call it a clean victory.” Weiss said, running through the fight in her head.

“Surely that’s all that matters right? It doesn’t matter how well you win if you win.” Yang joined the conversation.

“I suppose you could make that argument, but it is a retrospective point of view, very little stands between a sloppy victory and a loss.” Weiss rebutted, watching as the biomes retracted into the ground and she vaguely wondered how they were going to fix the forest after Nora destroyed a decent chunk of it. Her musings on the idea of a group of behind the scenes landscapers was interrupted by Doctor Oobleck making an announcement.

“Well I’m sure Vacuo fans will be hurting after that match, but the next will give them a chance to recover any injured pride!”

“Yes, Team NDGO is a favourite to take it all they way! But these lovely ladies will first have to face off against on of the toughest, most testosterone filled teammates we’ve seen so far!” Why was Professor Port making that sound like a good thing? “I’m of course talking about Team SSSN!” The crowd roared with approval at Port’s announcement and several members held up signs. Weiss squinted to see what they were and was shocked and mildly horrified to see blown up pictures of Sun and his teammates and even worse, pictures of Sun’s abs.

“I’m never going to be able to unsee that.” Weiss moaned, burying her face in her hands.

“But it’s not like Sun hides his abs or anything.” Yang commented absently, following Weiss’ sight line to the signs.

“It’s not the abs I have a problem with, it’s the mere idea people worship them enough to wave pictures of them around without shame.” Weiss’ voice was muffled as she dared to look up and watch Team SSSN meet Team NDGO in the centre. She groaned again as Neptune performed a familiar gesture, dear gods why had she even considered pursuing anything with that boy. If only these screaming fans knew what he was like in person. Then her mouth dropped open as, in response to Neptune’s painful flirting, Nebula Violette proceeded to sweep each of her teammates into a passionate kiss one after the other all the while flipping off the blue-haired boy.

“Well that was unexpected.” Was all Ruby could say, blushing furiously as the holographic spinners popped up and spun wildly. The ones behind Team NDGO finally settled on what looked to be sand dunes and some form of rocky outcroppings which they looked very pleased with, unsurprising since they were from Shade. Meanwhile the screens behind SSSN rolled to a stop displaying a picture of a wave and oddly Neptune spun around in what looked like terror as the floor opened up to reveal the biomes including a wrecked wooden ship of all things.

“Oh no...” Blake groaned, face dropped into her hands.

“What’s up with Neptune?” Ruby asked as Neptune now seemed to be shaking in fright.

“Neptune’s afraid of the water.” Oh dear, this was going to be painful.

* * *

 

“You cannot possibly tell me that victory was well deserved.” Weiss complained as they stood up and began slowly filing out of the coliseum, that being the last match of the day. “I know Sun’s your friend Blake, but that was an absolute shambles. NDGO did everything right and they still lost.” She continued to grumble, glancing up at the sky to see how much light they had left when something glinting caught her eye and her jaw went slack.

“You’re just mad because a bunch of cute gay girls got knocked out, hey whatcha looking at?” Yang asked, following Weiss gaze up to the sky.

“She’s here.” Weiss whimpered nervously. “Winter’s here.”

“Whaaaaat! Didn’t she tell you she was coming?” Ruby exclaimed, latching onto Weiss in excitement.

“She sent me a message last night saying she’d be coming today, but I expected her to tell me exactly when she’d arrive today.”

“You’d better get down to the landing pads then Weiss, quickly as well.” Blake pulled Yang back out of the way to allow Weiss to slip past.

“Ruby, will you come with me? I don’t think I can do this on my own.” Her hand reached up to clasp her bicep only to have it intercepted by Ruby who gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Of course I’ll go with you Weiss, I’ve been looking forward to meeting your sister!” She smiled warmly at her girlfriend who couldn’t help but blush a little.

“Okay lovebirds, you better get going.” Yang gave them a light shove towards the exit making them stumble into a light jog towards the airships carrying people down to the academy and Vale.

“Is there anything important I need to know about meeting your sister in public? How should I behave?” Ruby asked as they began their descent.

“Just be yourself, I don’t want you to pretend to be someone you’re not just so my sister will like you.” Weiss nudged her partner gently. “I’m your girlfriend, not Winter so really her thoughts don’t really matter. That said it would be nice if she did like you, I’d hate for us to fall out again over this of all things.”

“Don’t worry Weiss, I’m lovely and charming, Yang said so! I’m sure your sister will love me.” Ruby chirped happily, getting up as the airship touched down.

“I’m sure she will.” Weiss smiled back. “Oh, since she kind of already knows we’re together, don’t feel like you have to hold back on her account.” This was possibly one of Weiss’ more selfish ideas, but it wasn’t as though Ruby didn’t get anything out of it either, the younger girl loved to shower her girlfriend with affection.

“Okay then.” Ruby agreed, following Weiss off the airship and through the fairgrounds towards the main landing pads. The light was beginning to fade as they approached Winter’s airship which Weiss thought was rather ostentatious. As they got closer they saw the tall slender figure of Winter emerge, her greatcoat flapping in the breeze and flanked by a couple of Atlesian Knights.

“Winter!” Weiss called out, breaking into a full jog to meet her sister who turned at the call. “Oh Winter, it’s good to see you.” She smiled up at her elder sister and was delighted to receive a faint smile in return. This was promising, maybe this could work out alright.

“And it’s good to see you too Weiss.” Winter replied, looking over Weiss’ shoulder and raising an eyebrow at the lagging behind Ruby. “So this is the girl you’re so enamoured with you felt the need to flaunt your relationship in front of me.” Ah, maybe this wouldn’t go as well as she hoped.

“Y-Yes, Winter, I’d like you to meet Ruby Rose: my partner, academically and romantically.” Weiss stepped aside a little to allow Ruby to stand properly in front of Winter.

“Greeting Ruby Rose, I wish to thank you for taking an interest in my sister.” Winter said coolly, offering a hand to shake which the brunette took, both her and Weiss blushing at the older woman’s words.

“Ah yes, the pleasure is to meet you is in my court, I think?” She looked questioningly over at Weiss who rolled her eyes fondly.

“I thought I told you to just be yourself.” The heiress whispered to her.

“Right! Ooh, is your sword Mantelian steel?” Ruby had dropped Winter’s hand and was hovering excitedly around Winter’s blade, oohing and ahhing over it. The elder Schnee merely raised her eyebrow at her sister who shrugged helplessly, she had told the dolt to act like herself.

“Well, Weiss why don’t you take me to your quarters? I’m sure the conversation you wish to have is not one that should be held in public and I’d like to ensure they are up to my standards.”

“Of course Winter, it’s just this way.” Weiss gestured for Winter to walk with her, the knights following a few steps behind. “Just so you are aware, the bunk beds only look unstable.” The elder Schnee was nonplussed for a moment but quickly regained her composure.

“Bunk beds?”

“They were Ruby’s idea.” Weiss confirmed, glancing over at her girlfriend who was trotting alongside her.

“Of course.” Winter turned to address Ruby. “If you wouldn’t mind Miss Rose, I’d like to have this discussion in private with my sister. I would like to meet you properly later however.”

“I’ll catch up with you later then Weiss!” Ruby grinned and trotted away, leaving the two Schnee sisters alone together. Slowly they continued walking toward the main academy.

“That girl is certainly something.” Winter commented as they walked. “Isn’t she a little young to be attending Beacon.”

“Professor Ozpin allowed her to enter early on account of her talents.” Weiss explained, pride in her girlfriend flickered in her chest.

“Yes, I saw your match televised. I’m sorry I couldn’t see it in person, but my departure was delayed somewhat.”

“So what did you think?” Weiss asked tentatively, Winter’s assessments of her performance were usually quite harsh.

“I counted at least three missed strikes, but what concerns me more is your over-reliance on Dust.” Weiss was about to rebut Winter’s argument but was interrupted by a shout from behind them, accompanied by the head of one of the Atlesian knights landing by their feet.

“Hey!” The pair of sisters turned to face the man who called out. He looked to be incredibly unsteady on his feet, messy dark hair and several days worth of stubble. “Yeah, I’m talking to you ice queen!” Now Weiss was annoyed, yet another person calling her that stupid nickname. Steaming with rage, she stormed up to the man, ignoring Winter’s instructions to stay back and got right in the man’s face. Dear gods, he smelled like mother on an exceptionally bad day, Weiss wanted to vomit the smell that clung to him was so strong.

“Excuse me! Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?” She almost shouted in his face, only for the man to place his hand over her face and pushed her aside with surprising strength for a drunkard. Just who did he think he was, manhandling a Schnee like that?

“Shh, not you mini ice queen.” He slurred out, pushing her aside to take a couple of staggering steps towards Winter. “You, I saw your gaudy ship of yours flying in, guess you’re here too.”

“I’m standing right in front of you.”

“So you are!” The man seemed almost surprised as Winter stepped forward threateningly.

“I don’t have time for your games Qrow, what do you want?” Winter asked impatiently. “I’m on leave to see my sister so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t interrupt.”

“Wait you know each other!” Weiss looked between the two in shock, there was something else, the man’s name sounded familiar, like she’d heard it before somewhere.

“Ha, you Atlesian specialists think you’re so special.” The man continued to ramble as Weiss stepped away from him and to her sister’s side, this was starting to take a turn for the strange.

“It is in the title.” Winter responded drily.

“Well, you know what you really are? A bunch of sell-outs, just like your boss.” That clearly hit a nerve, Winter’s jaw set and her eyes narrowed at the insolent man. Weiss meanwhile was just confused, why was this man so angry at General Ironwood?

“I don’t like what you’re implying Qrow, but I’ve heard enough.” She was about to turn to leave when the man continued.

“Oh yeah? I heard too. I heard ol’ Ironwood finally turned his back on Ozpin.” Weiss was now officially very confused, she looked up at her sister for help.

“What’s this got to do with Ozpin?” She asked, only to be pushed aside insistently.

“It’s none of your concern Weiss, it’s time for you to go.” Winter growled, hand resting on the hilt of her sword.

“Yeah, that’s it mini ice princess, listen to your big sis, she’ll protect you like Atlas is gonna protect all of us.” That was the final straw, Winter drew her blade with a flourish and pointed it at Qrow.

“If you won’t hold your tongue, I’ll gladly remove it for you.” No, this was bad. This was not how their reunion was supposed to go at all. Weiss moved to intervene but Qrow beat her to it with one final challenge.

“Alright then, come and take it!” He gestured lazily for Winter who hesitated for a fraction of a second, then shot forward. Weiss was forced to take a few steps back as the two sped around the small area of the square that several onlookers had backed away from in fear. Suddenly the familiar presence made itself known beside Weiss.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Ruby asked, looking at Weiss in concern.

“Some crazy drunk guy just accosted my sister and started insulting her and now they’re fighting!” Weiss explained, somewhat panicked by the rapid sequence of events.

“Oh no! That’s terrible who would do such a thi-.” Ruby finally turned to look properly at the fight and burst out screaming. “That is my uncle!”

“What!?” Weiss shrieked, she remembered now. The drunken uncle Ruby had hoped would chaperone their trip, the drunken uncle who kept three cases of whiskey at Taiyang’s house and now the drunken uncle who was fighting Weiss’ sister. She did not like this man one bit.

Steeling herself, ready to intervene once more and put a stop to this nonsense, Weiss felt herself get held back by Ruby.

“What are you doing?!” Weiss glared at Ruby in bewilderment.

“Weiss, you can’t go out there, you have no idea how good Uncle Qrow is, you could get hurt!” The brunette wrung her hands anxiously as Weiss’ opportunity was lost as the combatants ended up scaling some of the monuments further away.

“If he’s that good, then I should be in no danger.” Weiss tried to shrug off her girlfriend’s grasp but was help firm.

“Weiss, I have a really bad feeling about you going near them.” She implored, eyes wide and almost tearing up.

“Ugh fine, but your uncle had better have a good reason for interrupting us. Winter and I were getting along and things were going well. Now if she loses, she’ll be in a foul mood for the rest of the week, she’s a pretty sore loser.” Weiss huffed in irritation watching as the two descended and in a shocking twist, Qrow sheathed his sword. Well, it was obvious to anyone not currently enraged and fighting the infuriating man that it was a trick. But is was one that Winter fell for; hook, line and sinker as she charged forward with a yell, blade aimed straight for Qrow’s throat when:

“Schnee!” A loud voice called out from behind and the crowd parted to reveal General Ironwood, with Penny of all people stood behind him. Winter stumbled to a halt, sword tip just inches away from Qrow’s neck.

“General Ironwood sir!” Winter snapped to attention, sheathing her sword and swivelling to face the angered General.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” He asked and Weiss thought she could see a vein pulsing in his temple.

“Sir, he started the altercation.” Winter defended weakly only to have Qrow pipe up.

“Actually that’s not true, she attacked first.” Weiss was about to step in and defend her sister to point out this Qrow had been spoiling for a fight with his insults but again was held back by Ruby. Perhaps she was right to though, this looked to be a very serious discussion.

“Is that right? And what are you doing here anyway?” Qrow just looked relaxed and nonchalant.

“I should be asking you the same thing.” He smirked infuriatingly, this man was really getting on Weiss’ nerves.

“Now everyone, nothing more to see here I suggest you continue about your evening.” Weiss hadn’t noticed Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch approach.

“Break it up, we’ll fix this mess.” Goodwitch said exasperatedly, already starting to levitate pieces of broken pathway back to its position.

“Let’s go Schnee.” Ironwood gestured for Winter to follow, but she hesitated a moment.

“Sir, if I may briefly speak with my sister?” The General sighed, but nodded and Winter hurried over to where Ruby and Weiss were still stood.

“I’m sorry about this Weiss, this will some time to smooth over. I probably won’t be done this evening, I shall see you tomorrow.” She rested a gentle hand on Weiss’ shoulder before withdrawing it and marching swiftly back over to the General and Penny who’d only just noticed them and waved at them which they returned tentatively.

“Uhhh, Weiss. I know he’s probably not your favourite person right now since he interrupted your sister time, but can I talk to my uncle? I haven’t seen him in ages.” Ruby asked quietly whilst Weiss just sighed.

“You don’t need to ask me permission to do that, he is your uncle, much as I wish that weren’t true right now.” Grinning sweetly, Ruby gave Weiss’ hand a squeeze then took off to pester her uncle, leaving Weiss to stew a little as she started making her way back towards the dorm. No, this uncle Qrow was definitely on Weiss’ ‘do not like’ list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting back to a more usual writing schedule. I forgot just how many fights there are in vol. 3, just non-stop fights which isn't exactly the best for a character based story like this. To that end, I'm messing with the timeline a little, drawing out the events of the festival to try to add more breathing room. On a side note, never assume any of my characters are cishet unless I specifically say so, that said, Neptune is. I sometimes wonder whether I've been too harsh on Neptune, then I remember he's kind of based on every smug git I've ever met and I feel better, it's not like he really does much in canon anyway.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	50. Chapter 50

Weiss’ rather irritable mood the previous evening had not been helped by Yang’s glee that her uncle was visiting Beacon or the fact that Jacques Schnee had called no fewer than seven times last night. Still slightly frustrated with the turn of events, Weiss crawled out of bed the next morning and traipsed into the bathroom to take a shower. The cascade of warm water helped alleviate some of the tension and Weiss was able to console herself with the fact that she had an entire day to spend with Winter. There were no matches she was interested in watching and the doubles round didn’t start until tomorrow. Clean and refreshed, Weiss emerged from the bathroom to see Blake sat up in bed, reading as per usual.

“Good morning Blake.” The dark-haired girl acknowledged her greeting with a flick of her ear as Weiss settled down to dry her hair, leaving her wings spread wide to dry as well. “Do you have any plans for today?”

“Not really, I was going to meet up with Sun a bit later, he wanted to celebrate his victory. What about you?”

“I’m meeting with Winter for breakfast.” Weiss smiled; her sister hadn’t sounded too upset over getting caught by General Ironwood yesterday so hopefully it would be a pleasant conversation. “I wanted to thank you, for encouraging me to reach out to her again.”

“It’s nothing really, I’m glad you’re able to try to patch things up with her.” Weiss hesitated for a moment, then asked.

“Does this make you want to try contacting your parents?” Blake’s head shot up, ears flattening for a moment before relaxing.

“Yes, a little. But I’m not going to.” She stated firmly.

“But-.” Weiss tried to argued but was shut down immediately.

“But nothing Weiss, I’ve already explained why I’m not calling them and my position hasn’t changed. So please don’t try to persuade me otherwise.” Blake’s tone brokered no argument so Weiss let it lie and returned to attending to her hair. A few minutes later there was a low groan and a loud thump as a half-asleep Ruby toppled out of her bunk.

“Ugh, ow. What time is it?” She groaned, rubbing at her eyes and staggering to her feet.

“It’s twenty to eight.” Weiss answered, checking her scroll to confirm.

“Too early…” The younger girl moaned. “Why are you even awake?”

“I’m meeting my sister for breakfast at eight.” Weiss shrugged. “And some of us like being awake early.” Blake nodded absently from behind her book.

“Bleh, dumb early bird.” Ruby snickered a little as Weiss flapped her wings in slight irritation. “Well I’m gonna go back to sleep, me and Yang are meeting uncle Qrow later, much later.” And with that, Ruby blew Weiss a kiss and crawled back into bed.

Sighing fondly, Weiss fluttered her wings shaking off the last few drops of moisture. It was hard to imagine how a few months ago she’d hated them, but now they just felt like a natural extension of herself, which they were of course. Early on she’d been concerned about how she’d cope with an entirely new and unfamiliar set of muscles. Thankfully it had been something of a non-issue keeping them cooped up in jackets most of the time and whenever they were free, she usually just let them do what they wanted.

Finished making herself look presentable, Weiss rose and collected her jacket and pulled it on. “I’m off, have a good time with Sun.” Blake raised a thumbs up as Weiss swept out of the room and headed down toward the pavilion. As she went, Weiss stole a glance out the window. It was a lovely mid-summer day, perfect for reconciliation and for Weiss to learn more about her family.

Humming a little tune to herself, she continued to trot her way down the stairs and out into the courtyard, barely anyone was there, most students would be at the fairgrounds or up at the coliseum. Despite the bright sun, Weiss stuck to the shade during her walk. She was already going to be spending several fights out in the sun and with her complexion, far paler than any of her teammates, she was under no illusion she would burn terribly.

Fortunately, the pavilion itself offered a good amount of shade as Weiss entered the courtyard it sat in and crossed the threshold. “Winter! Are you here?”

“On the other side Weiss.” came the reply and Weiss broke into a grin, any lingering doubts about their meeting vanishing. She had to restrain herself from simply running around the open room like Ruby would and instead settled for a brisk walk. Her sister was sat at the table where they’d met previously, she did like her dramatic gestures, and resting on the table was a tea set complete with what looked to be an Atlesian breakfast.

“Good morning Winter!” Weiss said brightly, settling into the chair opposite her sister.

“It is rather pleasant isn’t it.” She replied, pouring out tea for Weiss and herself. “So Weiss, here we are.” She took a sip of tea before continuing. “Perhaps we could start with why you reached out to me.”

“I-I don’t want to lose you from my life Winter, you’re the only member of our family who ever really cared about me and I don’t want to lose that over an old hurt.” The words tumbled out of Weiss’ mouth, tripping over one another in her rush to get them out.

“It sounded like this is far more than an old hurt sister. From what you told me before it was a very recent decision for you to stop cutting off your wings.” Winter frowned for a moment. “Forgive me for asking Weiss, but this is something that has been troubling me since our last meeting. How have they been growing back so that you needed to remove them repeatedly?”

“It’s my aura, it’s potent enough and I have enough reserves that I can regrow limbs.” Winter’s mouth dropped slightly before she regained control over her expressions.

“I see, I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Neither had I until I researched it, having such high aura reserves and potency is quite rare and there’s not a great deal of formal research into the phenomenon.”

“Even so, Weiss, I thought you had incredibly low aura, it’s why I encouraged you to start using an aura conducive sword when you first expressed an interest in using Dust in order to minimize how much was being used.” Winter looked quite perplexed at this contradiction.

“From what I gather, regrowing limbs isn’t exactly easy, it takes a lot of aura over a long time so for all intents and purposes my aura did have low reserves.”

“That would make sense I suppose.” Winter mused thoughtfully, finger tapping her temple. “And you say there’s not much formal research into the subject?”

“No there isn’t.” Weiss’ eyes hardened at the look in Winter’s. “And no, I have no interest in becoming a test subject for the Atlesian military’s science division. This is just a happy accident; I do not wish to be poked and prodded at and that’s final.” She put down firmly.

“Yes of course Weiss, sorry I gave that impression.” Winter leaned back minutely in a small gesture of surrender. This satisfied Weiss, who relaxed back into her chair and picked up her cup, taking a drink.

“As I was saying, I don’t want to lose you and I can’t spend my life being angry over the past.”

“I don’t want to lose you either Weiss, I want to be a better sister to you, so what do you want from me?” Winter asked, taking a croissant and delicately breaking off a chunk and eating it.

“I just want you to be there for me. I want a sister who doesn’t ignore me for months on end when I need her most.” Weiss fought back tears as she remembered the first time her wings had grown back, the teary messages she’d sent Winter asking to talk, only to receive no response and when she finally did respond, it was far too late. “I want a sister who doesn’t continually hide things from me. Can you do that Winter?”

“I think I can, and I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you when we were younger.” Winter laid the croissant down and rested a hand over Weiss’, squeezing slightly.

“Thank you.” Weiss sniffed a little, taking a moment to compose herself. “There’s something else too.”

“What?”

“Tell me about him, tell me about our father.” Winter heaved a deep sigh, settling back into her chair.

“I don’t remember much of him; this was almost eighteen years ago.” She ran a hand over her hair. “His name was Kassiel, but I always called him Kass. His parents died in a mining accident so as a gesture of goodwill, grandfather took him in.”

“With the servants.” Weiss stated, almost bitterly. This was something that had nagged her for a little while now, why wouldn’t he just take him in and raise him as part of the family?

“I know you almost worship grandfather Weiss, but remember he was still human, with all the prejudices they have against the Faunus. Just because he didn’t go around lynching Faunus for sport and didn’t beat them senseless whenever they slowed down in their work didn’t make him the Faunus’ greatest ally.” Winter sighed deeply. “He was charitable enough to provide Kass a place to live, extending that to inviting him into the family would’ve been too far.”

“So how does mother fit into this?”

“She was about the same age as Kass, I believe they were close, even after Jacques wormed his way in and married her.”

“Of course they were close, I think we’re living proof of that.” Weiss snarked quietly.

“Yes, but they were the only bright spots in each other’s lives. Mother, married off to a monster and forced to bend to his will, and Kass, orphaned and raised to be a servant to the people who indirectly caused their death.” Winter’s voice dropped. “Mother never used to drink until after you were born, after Kass was sent away.”

“Is he… still alive.” Weiss just about dared to let a note of hope enter her voice, only for it to be crushed a moment later.

“No. After I joined the military, I tried to track him down. All I found was a police report stating he died in a mugging not two weeks after his dismissal, before you were even born. His body was never claimed, so they cremated him and scattered the ashes in the Atlesian Sea. There’s no grave. No reminder that he existed on Remnant, except us and my memories of him.” Weiss was surprised to see tears sparkling in Winter’s eyes as she broke eye contact with Weiss and dropped her gaze to the table.

“I’m sorry Winter.” Weiss murmured, taking her sister’s hand. “I wish I could’ve known him.”

“Me too.” Winter sniffed, pulling a handkerchief out and dabbing at her eyes. After a few moments she regained her composure and looked at Weiss. “I think we’ve spent enough time dwelling on the past, we should focus on the present.” Weiss wanted to learn more about the father she never had, but Winter still looked fragile, so Weiss let it drop.

“You mentioned yesterday something about being concerned about my over-reliance on Dust.” Weiss suggested, whilst she hated her techniques being critiqued, it was one of Winter’s favourite activities.

“Yes, I did didn’t I? Weiss, I’m worried your usage of Dust is hampering your combat techniques.”

“I don’t see how, I’ve been getting better and better with it, I can channel aura directly through Dust crystals now, making them more powerful than when I use them in Myrtenaster.”

“And what happens if you run out of Dust, what do you do then?” Winter raised an eyebrow.

“You could say the same about aura.” Weiss shot back.

“You could, but if you run out of aura, the fight is certainly lost. It doesn’t have to be if you run out of Dust.” The older woman sighed in mild exasperation. “Weiss, I’m glad you’re improving your abilities with a facet of our semblance, I’d say you’re probably far better at Dust manipulation than I am. But there is more to our semblance than just glyphs and augmenting them with Dust. Have you tried summoning at all?”

“Winter you know I ca-.” Weiss began to answer, but then remembered the alleyway. “I managed it once by accident.”

“Really, what happened?” Winter looked on in interest as Weiss shuffled uncomfortably.

“Ruby and I were out on a date in Vale, I was disguised as a regular Faunus and we were attacked.” Weiss mumbled and Winter’s eyes grew cold and murderous.

“Who did this to you?” Her voice promised violent vengeance upon those foolish enough to attack her sister and Weiss desperately waved hand to try and help calm her sister down.

“They’ve been dealt with, Professor Ozpin’s punished them.” The angry gleam slowly ebbed from Winter’s gaze and she relaxed a little, though she still looked unhappy.

“Very well, so what happened next?”

“They caught us and started beating me, then the leader threatened Ruby and I don’t really know what happened, because next thing a Beowolf is standing over me and chasing the attackers off.” Weiss finished lamely, not meeting Winter’s eye, embarrassed to admit she’d been subjected to such a humiliation.

“I see, and have you tried since?”

“A few times, but I can’t get it to work and you know I’ve been trying for years now.”

“And I’ve told you before, your semblance is like a muscle, the more you practice, the stronger it will get. But if you only focus on one aspect, one that you’re comfortable with, you’ll fail to test the limits of what you think is possible and you’ll never grow beyond what you are now.” She raised her hand and a small glyph manifested over her palm, turning slowly in mid-air before expanding and vanishing in a flash, leaving behind a Beowolf. “You’ve done it before Weiss, I know with practice you can manage it.” She waved her hand and the summon dissipated into motes of light. “We still have time before I leave, would you like to practice with me?” A moment’s hesitation, then Weiss nodded.

“I would.” Rising from her seat, Weiss took a position, hands outstretched and concentrated.

“That’s good, excellent form, you’ve gotten a lot better at aura manipulation without Myrtenaster as a focus.” Winter commented, circling Weiss approvingly. “Now, think of your fallen foes, the ones that forced you strive beyond where you were and become better, to become who you are now.” Weiss closed her eyes and pictured the giant suit of armour, the one Jacques Schnee had pitted her against to prove she was ready to attend Beacon. She opened them again, to see a glyph spinning lazily on the ground in front of her.

“Keep thinking and they will come to your side to aid you.” Winter instructed and Weiss concentrated hard on the memory of the fight, of how she pushed through the pain after it scored a hit on her and destroyed it.

But nothing happened.

Hissing in frustration, Weiss dismissed the glyph and slumped back down into her chair. “I can’t do it, what happened in the alley was a fluke.”

“If you keep thinking you can’t do it, then you certainly won’t.” Winter told her calmly, selecting a strawberry from the plate of food. “Do you want to win this tournament, do you want to succeed as a huntress?”

“Of course I do!” Weiss protested, still sat sulking in her chair.

“Then try again.”

Muttering mutinously under her breath, Weiss rose and resumed her stance. This time however, instead of paying attention to Winter’s talk of fallen foes, she instead thought back to the alley, what she had felt then that could have catalysed her summoning. Anger, hurt, humiliation, Weiss’ brow creased as she recalled with vivid clarity the pain exploding in her face as Cardin landed his final blow before turning on Ruby. She hadn’t been strong enough to protect her, she needed to be better. It felt as though something within her loosened, Weiss opened her eyes and saw for the briefest of moments what looked like something pushing through the glyph. But, in her shock, her concentration wavered and the glyph fell apart, leaving Weiss bitterly disappointed.

“That was good, you were close then.” Winter commented approvingly, examining the spot where the glyph had manifested. “If you keep practising, you’ll have it in no time. Do you want to try again?”

“Not particularly, I wanted to spend some time with my sister, not training.” She grumbled, snagging a croissant and biting into it, Winter raising an eyebrow at her lack of manners.

“Ah, yes. Sorry, I got a little carried away.” Winter apologised. “Perhaps you could show me your dorm room as I didn’t see it yesterday?”

“Yes, I think that would be enjoyable.” Weiss swallowed down the last of the croissant. “Should we do anything with this?” She gestured at the china and silverware.

“Someone will be by soon to collect them, we can just leave them.” Weiss nodded and gestured for Winter to follow her. “Tell me about your team, you’ve only really talked your partner and even then it’s only in the context of her as your girlfriend.”

“Oh, where shall I start...” Weiss pondered for a moment. “Well there’s Yang she’s Ruby’s older sister. We didn’t really get on at first, Yang can be so loud and enthusiastic it gets a bit overwhelming not to mention how protective she can be of Ruby. But she’s incredibly reliable and supportive.” Weiss thought back over the last week and Yang helping her with her nightmares filled with blood and ice and this wasn’t even counting the rest of the year she’d been there.

“And Blakes, she’s Yang’s partner and we didn’t like each other much at the start either, but now she’s the best friend I could hope for.” Winter raised an eyebrow at this admission

“Did you get along with any of your teammates initially? What about your girlfriend?” Weiss’ face fell a little

“Truth be told I didn’t like Ruby at the start, she accidentally set off an explosion right in front of me on the first day and I got… angry and things didn’t improve for several weeks.” A trickle of guilt wormed its way into Weiss’ head, she hadn’t properly apologised for shouting at Ruby back then. Or for any of the things she did at the start of the year.

“I see…” There was a note of disappointment in Winter’s voice that made Weiss feels just that little bit worse about herself.

“I was a different person back then.” Weiss defended herself weakly. “I was mean and haughty and thought everyone was beneath me.”

“Yet here you stand, devoted second to a girl two years your junior who you happen to be dating and a proud Faunus.” Winter smirked a little and Weiss blushed a little.

“Uh yes, I’d say that’s an accurate summary.” She mumbled in embarrassment and her sister let out a soft chuckle.

“Well if your aim is to annoy Jacques Schnee as much as possible, I’d say you’ve definitely achieved that. You know you can’t avoid him forever, if you still intend to take over the company.”

“Yes, it’s not a conversation I am looking forward to.” Weiss hesitated a moment, recalling the embarrassment of yesterday and the incessant calls she’d been receiving. “Although I fear it’s one that will come sooner than I would like.” Winter gave her a curious look as they entered the dormitory building and started to ascend the stairs.

“What do you mean Weiss?”

“He’s been calling repeatedly over the last few days, I’ve refused to answer and so he emptied my account.” Weiss told her sister nonchalantly.

“Yet you seem unconcerned with a lienless existence.” Winter observed at which Weiss smirked a little.

“Ever since I decided to let my wings regrow I’ve been siphoning funds into a private account, I’m no longer reliant on that man.”

“Yes you are, you still need him to keep you on as heiress.” Weiss’ stride faltered, she hadn’t thought of that. If she continued to refuse his calls he could easily strip her of her position.

“What do I do?” Panic tinged her voice slightly as she halted, looking up to her sister for guidance.

“I can’t tell you that. You decided to play this game despite knowing Jaques Schnee holds all the cards. You could suck it up, answer his calls and pretend to be his perfect little princess. Or you could continue to ignore him and become a hunter with your partner. You have several options, why is this the one you’re so determined to follow?” The two paused in their walk, and stood to the side of an empty corridor, sun streaming through a window beside them.

“It’s my responsibility, you know what the SDC does to our people. I’m uniquely placed to make a real difference.” Weiss explained, carefully dodging around the matter of Winter having been in the same position and avoiding the responsibility.

“Weiss, do you really think you can change years of institutional racism. You’re just one woman, even if you are CEO of Remnant’s largest company.” Winter reasoned gently, placing a hand on Weiss’ shoulder. “You don’t have to take the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

“I can’t just sit by and do nothing Winter.” Slowly, her sister nodded in acknowledgement, concern still filling her eyes.

“You must do what you feel is right Weiss. Now, shall we see your room?” Weiss nodded, a little put out by Winter’s lack of explicit support.

“It’s just this way.” Weiss continued to lead the way around the corner to the dorm where she was surprised to see the door open and could hear a voice drifting into the hallway.

“You two, you’re gonna go far. But only if you never stop learning; if you never stop moving forward.” Oh no, Weiss forgot what Ruby and Yang were doing today. She glanced worriedly over at her sister to see her brow creased in confusion.

“Is that your dorm Weiss, who is that? He sounds familiar...” Before Winter could place the voice, Ruby’s uncle sauntered out of the room, looking decidedly less drunk, and stopped dead when he saw Winter and Weiss stood there, equally taken aback.

“You!” Winter’s voice crackled with icy fury.

“Yeah, me.” He drawled, as Weiss dropped her face in her palm, not noticing Ruby sticking her head out the room and doing the same. This was not going to end well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been about six months since I started this and now we've hit fifty chapters. Honestly I was not expecting what started out as a small writing project because I wanted more Faunus Weiss fics in the world to go on for quite this long and still have a lot more to go.
> 
> So, anyway, the chapter. We finally learn a bit more about Kass, not much mind you, and Weiss and Winter seem fully on their way to proper reconciliation. Weiss also trying diversify her battle skills, because she is going to need them. Next up, after Qrow and Winter have it out, something I wish happened in canon, the intro for the volume plays them up as rivals, then proceeds to have them fight for one episode then Winter leaves, it's the doubles rounds. And ooh boy is it gonna be a doozy.
> 
> Oh in case any of you missed it, which is fairly likely considering I'm sure not everyone here pays attention to my tumblr, I've been working on a bit of art for later on. The full piece will be revealed in time, but for now you can see a sneak peek [here](https://apatheticabstractapotheosis.tumblr.com/post/187344665398/apatheticabstractapotheosis-heres-a-little)
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	51. Chapter 51

“What are you doing here?” Winter spat, marching right up into Qrow’s face.

“Can’t a guy visit his nieces every once in a while?” He complained in a monotone as Winter took a step back in confusion.

“Nieces!?” She spluttered in confusion, eyes darting to the brunette in the doorway, horrified comprehension dawning in them.

“Uh, hi Winter. I guess you’ve already met my uncle Qrow.” She waved sheepishly as Yang poked her head out the doorway to see what the commotion was. Winter just let out a quiet groan and buried her face in her hands. After a moment she looked up at her sister, expression pleading.

“Weiss, please tell me it isn’t true. Please tell me your girlfriend’s uncle isn’t Qrow Branwen, the man who’s been a thorn in my side for the entirety of my career.” She all but begged her sister, ignoring Qrow’s look of mock offence.

“I’m sorry Winter, but I’m afraid it is.” Weiss admitted sadly, walking over to pat her sister reassuringly on the shoulder.

“Really kiddo? Of all the girls in the world you had to go for a Schnee? I thought you had better taste than that.” Weiss was jerked away from her comforting of Winter and glared daggers up at the man.

“It’s not like that uncle Qrow, she-.” Ruby tried to defend her, something Weiss was deeply grateful for, but was interrupted by Winter who drew herself up to her full height and stared coldly at Qrow.

“Excuse me? Your niece should consider it a privilege to be courted by my sister.” She sneered, leaving Weiss stunned and worried at the direction this argument was taking.

“A privilege? The only privilege here is that privileged little girl raised in Jacques Schnee’s ivory tower.” Qrow gestured at Weiss animatedly. “Besides, Ruby here’s the one who’s slumming it. She’s the best young scythe wielder I’ve ever seen and your sister’s just going to hold her back." Yang looked distinctly awkward, caught in the middle of an argument she had no part in and Ruby just looked appalled at what was happening.

“How dare you presume such things about my sister!” Winter hissed. “You have no idea what she’s been through.” Qrow opened his mouth about snap back with some no doubt incredibly witty retort when Weiss was officially done and it seemed Ruby had the same idea.

“Enough!” Both shouted simultaneously, glaring up at their respective relatives.

“You are not going to argue like children, especially not in the middle of a corridor.” Weiss fumed, grabbing both supposed adults and dragging them past Yang into the room.

“Yang, could you go hang with Blake for a little while.” Ruby asked her sister who nodded and left looking distinctly relieved at having been released from the conversation. With a solid click, Ruby shut the door behind them and joined Weiss in glaring up at the two.

“Would either of you care to explain what that was about?” Weiss asked, voice crackling with ice as she looked between the two. When neither of them spoke, both too busy glaring at each other, daring them to be the first to speak, Ruby piped up, disapproval and hurt plain in her voice.

“Uncle Qrow, you said some very mean things about Weiss, why did you do that?” The man shuffled awkwardly.

“Look kiddo, I know what the Schnees are like, I’ve had to work with the ice queen here,” He jerked his head at Winter. “On and off for three years, not to mention meeting good ol’ Jacques once or twice. They’re all a bunch of stuck-up snobs.” Both Weiss and Winter shot him angry looks.

“Weiss isn’t like that any more.” Ruby insisted, folding her arms in an attempt to look intimidating to her uncle who just raised a sceptical eyebrow so Weiss stepped in.

“Do you really think Ruby would go out with me if I was a ‘stuck up snob’? She has far too much self-respect to do something like that.” Weiss told him flatly, earning a soft smile from Ruby before she turned her baleful gaze onto her sister. “And you Winter, ‘your niece should consider it a privilege to be courted by my sister’? Did you really think insulting Ruby like that was appropriate?” Unlike Qrow who still just looked surly, Winter at least had the grace to look contrite.

“I’m sorry Weiss, you’re right. I shouldn’t have insulted Ruby to get at Qrow like that.” Then without prompt, she turned to the younger girl. “Ruby I’m sorry I insinuated you were somehow beneath my sister or unworthy of her affections, it was thoughtless and cruel.” There was a sound of irritation and disbelief from Qrow and the other three turned to face him.

“There something you want to say?” Weiss asked coldly, not looking forward to his answer.

“Come on kiddo, surely you don’t buy an apology like that do ya?” He scoffed, though he didn’t meet their eye. “These Atlas military types are all the same, they go ahead and do whatever they want and follow it up with an insincere apology.”

“If you have a problem with the General’s actions, then take it up with him.” Winter gritted out. “But I suggest you air your grievances in private.” Weiss and Ruby exchanged confused looks at the direction the conversation had drifted in. Qrow grumbled incomprehensibly for a few moments then settled into an irritable silence that lasted another few before it was broken by Ruby.

“You still didn’t say sorry.” She frowned up at her uncle.

“For what?”

“For calling Weiss a stuck-up snob and saying I’m slumming it by being with her.” She gazed up at him expectantly only to receive a stony silence. “Uncle Qrow, I love you, but Weiss is part of my life now and I’d really like it if you got along. And even if you don’t, she’s not going anywhere.” Weiss’ heart swelled at Ruby’s words and she had to fight the urge to wrap her arms around her and kiss the younger girl silly. Qrow meanwhile just groaned in exasperation.

“Fine, I’m sorry I called you a stuck-up snob and said Ruby was slumming it dating you. Happy now?” For a man who’d been complaining about insincere apologies a minute ago, his apology could not have sounded any more fake. But it seemed to satisfy Ruby who nodded approvingly and now the imminent threat of another brawl had been averted, proceeded to wrap her arms around Weiss and pulled her into a tight hug followed up with several chaste kisses to her cheek.

“Jeez, we get it, can’t you be sickeningly in love somewhere else?” Qrow said in exasperation, averting his gaze pointedly. “You’re as bad as Raven and Summer were, honestly.”

“Much as I hate to, I agree with Qrow, this display is making me quite nauseous.” Winter chipped in. “Why do people even want to do that?” She wondered out loud as the younger pair parted and gave their older relatives odd looks. Qrow himself looked mildly disturbed he and Winter actually agreed on something.

“Okaaaaay then.” Ruby scratched at her head in confusion, gaze flicking between the two. “Since we’re not fighting any more, maybe we should keep it that way. Uncle Qrow, didn’t you say you had things to do?” Weiss could tell Ruby was fighting the urge to suggest they all do something together to cement the bonds of unity or something. But she agreed with her decision to get their family away from each other, sometimes people just weren’t going to get on. 

“Oh yeah, I guess I did.” Weiss narrowed her eyes at Qrow, he sounded reluctant to leave, probably wanted to needle her sister some more. “I’ll see you around kiddo, ice queen, mini ice queen.” He wrapped Ruby in a quick one armed hug and sarcastically saluted the sisters before sauntering out of the room, shutting the door behind him. As soon as she was sure he was out of earshot, Weiss let out a sigh of relief, shedding her jacket and flexing out her wings. They were stiff from the tension that had been crackling through the room just a few minutes ago.

“That could have gone worse.” Weiss surmised, stretching her wings out to their full extent and ignoring Winter’s raised eyebrow as Ruby nodded vigorously and moved behind Weiss to perform her usual routine of checking over the wings for stray feathers. “At least there wasn’t any massive property damage this time.”

“Yes well...” Winter blushed very lightly and turned away to inspect Ruby’s bed. “The bunk beds were your idea Miss Rose?”

“Yep! We didn’t have enough space so we improvised.” She grinned proudly, earning a light smack from Weiss’ wing.

“I see...” Winter was now checking the knots that held the bed suspended from the ceiling. “It _looks_ secure.” She said, pressing down lightly on the bed

“Of course it’s safe Winter, if it wasn’t it would’ve fallen down by now.” Weiss rolled her eyes at her sister’s not entirely unwelcome concern.

“And where is it you sleep Weiss?”

“I, uh sleep below Ruby’s bunk. We do sleep separately you know.” Weiss defended, flushing a little at the memory of the position they’d found themselves in staying at Taiyang’s house.

“Weiss, it’s not my place to judge whatever decisions you’ve made in your relationship.” Winter reassured her idly, now checking how far the bunk could swing side to side.

“Yes, of course.” Weiss relaxed, mollified by Winter’s answer and stepped over to lean against her desk. “So do our bunks meet your incredibly high standards?” She snarked at her sister who had finally stopped in her testing of the bed.

“It is… adequate. I am at the very least satisfied this isn’t going to come crashing down whilst you sleep.”

“High praise indeed.” Weiss drawled, feeling more at ease with her sister than she’d ever been now the falsehoods between them had been stripped away. Winter just rolled her eyes and moved over to the bookshelf, examining the titles.

“I hope some of these aren’t yours Weiss.” She commented pulling a volume out and flipping it open to a random page. “Ninjas of Love...” Her voice trailed off as her eyes widened and she slammed the book shut and stuffed it haphazardly on the shelf looking oddly nauseous. Weiss cocked her head once again at Winter’s behaviour, Ninjas of Love wasn’t that bad, it had a few more prurient moments but nothing particularly disgusting like Winter seemed to think it was.

“No, they’re Blake’s actually.” Weiss felt a little guilty about throwing her friend under the bus like that, but she wasn’t about to lie about something so trivial.

“I see, she’s the cat Faunus isn’t she?” Ruby jumped in surprise at Winter’s casual mention of Blake’s heritage, Weiss less surprised but still intrigued.

“How did you know? We didn’t realise for months!” Ruby asked, shock etched across her face at Winter’s deductive prowess.

“Miss Rose, I’ve been carefully hiding my wings for my entire life. I’d say that puts me in a good position to recognise when others are doing the same.”

“Oh...”

“Yes, oh. Although Weiss, when were you going to tell me you teammate was the daughter of the chieftain of Menagerie?”

“What!?” Weiss spluttered, Ruby too stared at Winter in disbelief.

“Blake Belladonna, her father Ghira is Menagerie’s current chief.” Winter stated matter of factly. “Did she not tell you?”

“No, well she did tell us he founded the White Fang… How come no one else pointed this out to us.” Winter just scoffed at this.

“For the same reason neither of you knew. No-one except the Faunus care about who’s running Menagerie, and as for the White Fang, that was founded by one Ghira Kotiya.” Oh, well that explained how no-one associated Blake with the White Fang. Blake definitely had some things she needed to explain later.

Anyway, I think we’ve stayed in here long enough.  Weiss, perhaps you and Miss Rose would give me a tour of the grounds before I leave, we can talk some more as we walk and it is too lovely a day to be wasted in your dorm.” Weiss nodded at Winter’s suggestion and collected up her jacket, swinging it on and gesturing for Ruby to lead the way out the dorm.

* * *

 

The rest of the day passed all too quickly for Weiss’ liking and all too soon she was accompanying Winter to the airdocks. Ruby had left them not long before, wanting to give the pair some privacy to say their goodbyes.

“Well Weiss, I feel this has been a very interesting visit.”

“I suppose interesting is one word for it...” Weiss thought back to the evening before and the argument this morning. “You never said why you and Ruby’s uncle hate each other.”

“Hate is a strong word Weiss.” Winter defended weakly

“Yet one I feel appropriate for the situation.” Weiss shot back coolly. “So what did he do, or was it you who instigated this rivalry.”

Winter hesitated for a moment, looking as though she was choosing her words carefully. “I can’t say much of what he’s done to earn my ire, confidential military information, however I can say he has been  undermining the General for years now and by extension as one of the General’s closest aides he has transferred some of his animosity to me. And that’s not even counting his obvious dislike for our name.”

Weiss snorted in amusement. “Yes, if only he really knew who the latest generation of Schnees really were I suspect he’d be singing a rather different tune.”

“Well perhaps he’ll learn soon that we are more than a name and what our heritage truly means.” Winter commented drily. “But I don’t hold much hope, men like that can be quite obstinate.”

“I’d like to think we can all change for the better.” Weiss said, channelling some of Ruby’s optimism and recalling her own path to the present. 

“And maybe they can.” Winter agreed as the pair halted by her airship. “Weiss, you’ll have to confront Jacques Schnee sometime and the longer you put it off, the worse a position you’ll be in.”

“I know, it’s all happening so fast. After the tournament, I’ll contact him then. I have too much on my mind right now.” 

“Yes, I wish I’d been able to participate, sadly the team I was saddled with were so woefully incompetent it’s a wonder they graduated.” She turned to face Weiss. “Whatever happens with Jacques, whatever you decide to do Weiss. I will always be there to support you.” The younger sister smiled up at the elder.

“Thank you Winter.” And she wrapped her in a hug that reminded her of just how little physical contact they’d had together. Finally she pulled away.

“Goodbye Weiss, and good luck for tomorrow.”

“I thought you told me luck was for the unskilled and unprepared.” Weiss teased back.

“Perhaps, but it is an appropriate farewell is it not?” Winter smiled fondly down at her sister.

“i suppose it is. Goodbye Winter, I hope I’ll see you soon.” Weiss stepped back as Winter boarded the airship and watched as it slowly rose into the air and departed Beacon. As she watched it disappear over the horizon, there was a buzz from inside her jacket. Pulling out her scroll, she was immensely displeased to yet again see Jacques Schnee listed as the caller. Once again hitting the reject call button, Weiss turned and made her way back towards the academy. She didn’t have time to think about that man, she had a fight to win tomorrow.

* * *

 

“So Weiss, you got anything on Team FNKI?” Yang asked as they waited for their opponents to arrive at the centre of the arena. They were the third match of the day, Coco and Yatsuhashi had just gone before them and in a surprise upset gotten completely crushed by Emerald and Mercury. Weiss and Blake were still sceptical of the pair after their probing a few days ago, although Blake seemed a little more relieved that if they had been fishing for information for the doubles it was irrelevant now. Weiss had wanted to go with Velvet to check on the pair, the rabbit Faunus having been incredibly aloof towards her partner over the last couple of weeks now looking terrified for her. But Weiss and Yang had been pulled away to start their prep for their match.

“Sadly not.” Weiss grumbled. “They arrived late and there wasn’t any time to surveil them.”

“Ya know you sound kinda evil when you put it like that Weissy.” Yang smirked.

“It’s called being prepared Yang, need I remind you of how you didn’t prepare for Mountain Glenn and you ran out of trail mix before we even landed?” Weiss shot back and grinned smugly at Yang’s mock offence.

“Sure, sure bring up my sordid past why don’t you. Anyway, these guys are from Atlas right, doesn’t that give you a clue?” Weiss thought over what Winter had told her about her time at Atlas Academy.

“Well as you know the government, military and academy are all merged as one, I expect strict militant fighters with now qualms about fighting dirty as well as advanced technology and carefully rehearsed strategies.”

“Then why are they so la-.” As if in answer to Yang’s complaint there was a rainbow coloured blaze that swept behind them and coming to a halt opposite them. To say she was an eyesore would be something of an understatement, the riotous clash of colours on the girl’s outfit was giving Weiss a headache and she took particular note of a swishing cat tail behind her.

This must be Neon Katt, a rather on the nose name Weiss thought and her attention was drawn to the boy strolling up beside her. Although less painful to look at, he looked no less outlandish, he hadn’t even done up his tie! Why wear one if you aren’t going to wear it properly? She took special note of the trumpet held in a loose grip, possibly the most unorthodox weapon Weiss had ever seen, this did not bode well.

“You were saying Weiss?” Yang snarked having gotten over her initial shock.

“I have been known to be wrong on occasion.” She sniffed, looking back at their opponents.

Hey, You’re Weiss Schnee aren’t ya?” The young man, Flynt, called out.

“I am…” Weiss replied guardedly, she’d been exposed to enough of the outside world to know recognition, especially from an Atlesian could go either way.

“Guess you’re pretty good with Dust then?” His tone gave nothing away, despite how relaxed it sounded.

“I try.” She responded, trying to keep her tone neutral, still unsure of where this was going.

“Yeah, my dad was pretty good too, owned a little Dust shop of his own.” Oh no, Weiss could see where this was going and braced herself for the vitriol. “Until your father’s company ran him out of business.” There it was, the venom and anger directed at her because of Jacques Schnee’s actions. She wanted to shout at him that she’d rather die than have that man as her Father, that he’d essentially handed out a death sentence to her real father. Instead she steadied her breathing that had grown rapid and choppy and mustered up as much sympathy as she could, which wasn’t too difficult given that Flynt really had been hard done by.

“I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah, sure you are.” Weiss flinched at the biting sarcasm, but steeled herself, they were about to fight, there was no time for second-hand guilt. And if nothing else she’d learned one thing, Flynt was clearly also a Dust user.

“Hey why don’t you-.” Yang leaped to Weiss’ defence seeing her falter under Flynt’s bitter anger but was interrupted by Neon.

“Hey! Why don’t you?” She smirked at her accurate, if unflattering imitation of Yang. “That’s what you sound like.” Yang was completely non-plussed, thrown by this preteen level of insults. “Ooh, where’d you get your hair extensions?”

“Uh, this is just my normal hair.”

Ooh really?” Weiss could hear the sarcasm oozing from Neon’s voice. Then it hit her, they were trying to rile them up, get them off balance. This was their strategy and it was working. Weiss tried to interrupt, to get Yang to focus but was cut off my Neon’s rapid-fire chatter. “You should try rollerblading sometime, it’s  _super_  fun. Not sure how good you’d be at it though since you’re so y’know… top-heavy.” That really annoyed Yang who growled in rage.

“Yang, ignore her. Focus.” Weiss implored, not noticing the holographic spinners come up. “Try to relax and don’t get split up.”

“Yeah that’s it, listen to the ice queen.” Flynt taunted as the terrain rose up around them and all four dropped into combat stances.

“3… 2… 1… Begin!” Port’s bellowing voice was drowned out by a loud high-pitched wailing from Flynt’s trumpet. The resulting blast of air sent Weiss and Yang skidding backwards, until Weiss gathered enough strength to conjure two gravity glyphs beneath her and Yang, anchoring them. That is until Neon, slid into the blast of sound and used it to speed forward, body checking Yang and knocking her off the glyph and flying away closely followed by Neon. They were separated already.

There was a brief respite from the deafening noise as Flynt ran out of breath. Evidently the weapon only augmented his playing with Wind Dust rather than it being the sole source. It wasn’t for long though as the sonic assault started up again. This time however, Weiss started forming a line of glyphs straight to him and using them as anchor points began to make her way towards him. If she could close the gap, his weapon would be useless for close combat. Step by step she made her way towards him until she was almost within striking range, when the sound stopped suddenly sending her stumbling forward and past Flynt who lashed out with a kick that landed solidly against her back and wings and sent her sprawling into the lava field.

As she crawled to her feet, he looked her, perplexed, flexing the leg he’d kicked her with. Scowling, she spun the chambers to Ice Dust and summoned four glyphs to launch a volley of ice spikes at her foe only for him to notice something at his feet and duck down as a column of flames erupted in front of him and was diverted by a quick trumpet blast to melt her ice lances. The lucky so-and-so grinned smugly as he twirled his trumpet around, showing off, Weiss bitterly wanted to choke him with his own undone tie which was still annoying her. No she needed to calm down, she couldn’t fight effectively if she was angry.

“Hah, too bad all your money can’t buy you any skill.” He mocked her. Oh if he wanted skill, she’d show him skill. As he raised the instrument to his lips and started blowing, Weiss clicked the barrel round to Wind dust and met his attack with her own creating a standstill, for him that was. Concentrating, she gestured subtly and formed several glyphs to surround Flynt without him noticing. The moment he paused to draw breath, Weiss struck. Cutting off her miniature tornado, she launched herself forward, slicing across his chest and bounced back off a glyph and did it again, moving around the circle and hitting him a barrage of sword strikes. That is until he got his balance and split himself into four, Weiss couldn’t halt her momentum and was blasted back by the combined force of their weapons.

“What’s this?” Weiss vaguely heard Professor Port say over the ringing in her ears from being caught by the barrage of sound.

“It appears Mr Coal has activated his semblance and what a remarkable one it is, ladies and gentlemen feast your eyes upon the killer quartet!” Oobleck announced dramatically, his voice swimming in and out of focus like Weiss head as she tried to crawl to her feet. There they were again, giving away competitors secrets like they were nothing. She moved to click the Fire dust into the active position only to find she’d dropped Myrtenaster about a metre away. She was just reaching out to grab it when a foot came down upon it. She looked up to see the grinning Flynt standing over her but his attention was pulled away by loud shouting.

“You get back here now so I can pound your face in!” Yang’s enraged yells easily broke through the ringing in Weiss’ ears as she tried desperately to hit the nimble Neon. Weiss blinking hard, trying to restore her vision to look properly at what was going on.

“Look, I wasn’t trying to say you should go on a diet, I’m saying you really need to go on a diet. Then you’d be even prettier.”

“Just shut up! I already have a girlfriend!” Yang screamed, firing several shotgun rounds at the irritating Faunus. Wait, what was Flynt doing, Weiss glanced back and saw he’d split into four again and had raised his trumpet, ready to attack the distracted Yang. She couldn’t quite think straight, too much sound in her head. Needed to stop him, but how? Myrtenaster was still under his foot.

Then she saw the bubbling lava and an incredibly stupid idea came to her. No time to think, if she could around the ringing. Flynt was inhaling and Weiss lunged up, crashing into the line and knocking them back into one and the pair toppled into a lava geyser which exploded.

Pain, Weiss hadn’t felt pain like this since the train crash in Vale. She heard faint sounds of yelling and what felt like tearing across her torso as Flynt wormed free and staggered away. There was so much ash in the air Weiss couldn’t see or breathe.

“And it looks like Miss Schnee sacrificed herself, depleting her aura, to take out Flynt! But what’s this? Flynt Coal remains standing!” Weiss couldn’t tell who was speaking, but they were wrong about one thing, Weiss was also still standing. Woozily she crawled to her feet. The ash and dust still hung heavy in the air and she ached all over her arms and back.

She needed to see what was happening. As if in answer, a massive gust of wind exploded from behind her clearing the air revealing Flynt, looking worse for wear, his stupid tie finally removed and Neon who turned to look at the source of the gust and her mouth gaped. Across from them, Yang was breathing heavily and took advantage of Neon’s momentary distraction to grab her and hurl her away into the geyser field as Flynt also turned to look at Weiss, his face going slack.

“That’s impossible.” He croaked out, but Weiss was already closing the gap as quickly as she could. Her right fist slammed into his gut winding him, followed by a kick to the shin, knocking him to the ground. He looked up in disbelief, as Weiss threw one final punch right into his face, knocking him onto his back and finally reducing his aura below 15 percent.

Panting heavily Weiss looked over at Yang who was watching as Neon was launched into the air by a geyser and was a sitting duck for a shot from Yang.

“Yang?” Weiss rasped out, voice croaky from inhaling the ash, as the buzzer signalling the end of the match sounded out, yet there wasn’t any cheering. Yang turned to face her, sunny grin dropping as she saw her.

“Weiss, your wings.”

No. No, no, no. It couldn’t be. Frantically Weiss checked her jacket. It had been burnt away completely, her skin and clothes below were covered in patches of dirt and ice from where the Dust woven in had been set off by the heat of the lava. And, sure enough, her wings flapped loose behind her.

What little sound she could still hear around the ringing was blotted out by the increasingly loud buzzing that soon engulfed even that. Yang was in front of her, saying something, her lips were moving at least. Ruby and Blake were there too and their opponents were getting up as well, still looking at her in shock.

It was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, that was a thing that's been coming for a looooooong time now, Coco did warn her after all. Nowhere to hide now. Who knows what will happen to her now, well I do, but that's academic really. Oh and a minor clarification of a detail that got mentioned earlier and was probably overshadowed by the ending with regards to how the Remnant I'm writing works, names are usually matrilineal and husbands tend to take their wife's name, at least in the case of those kinds of relationships. And yes there is an explanation for why Yang is Xiao Long, but that'll come later. In the meantime we've got a couple more upsets to come so you can look forward to that.
> 
> As always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated


	52. Chapter 52

“What do you mean disqualified!” Yang was shouting, but Weiss could only just hear it over the all-consuming buzzing.

_The ringing had subsided as she’d allowed herself to be guided from the arena by her teammates only to be replaced with the incessant buzzing that was now louder than ever. It was over, it was all over. They met by Professor Goodwitch at the entrance to the combatants area and she guided them to a waiting airship which took them down to Beacon, throwing Weiss concerned glances every so often. From there they were led to the CCT tower and up to Professor Ozpin’s office where both he and General Ironwood were waiting._

“ _Good morning ladies.” The headmaster addressed them. “It seems it’s been a rather eventful one hasn’t it?”_

“ _That’s the understatement of the century.” Yang muttered, throwing a concerned look at the unresponsive Weiss._

“ _Yes well I’m afraid it’s not going to get much better.” Ozpin gave them a sorrowful look as General Ironwood stepped forward._

“ _Yes, I’m afraid we have some bad news for you girls.”_

“ _Could it be much worse than our teammate getting exposed as a Faunus to the entirety of the world.” Blake snarked, pulling close to Weiss and rubbing her arm gently to try to get some response._

“ _Perhaps not, but I’m afraid it does pertain to that.” Ironwood took a deep, steadying breath. “I’m afraid you’ve been disqualified from the tournament.”_

“What!?” Ruby shrieked in shock, startling Blake who also looked appalled at Ironwood’s words.

“I’m pretty sure you know what the word means Miss Xiao Long.” The General stated calmly in the face of Yang’s blazing anger.

“On what grounds?” Blake asked, throwing a concerned glance at the angry Yang as though wondering if she needed to be calmed down.

“According the tournament judges, Miss Schnee has been wilfully concealing information that could give her an unfair physical advantage over other competitors.” Yang’s jaw dropped at the sheer audacity of the reasoning.

“That’s complete and utter bullshit and you know it. Competitors don’t disclose their semblances all the time!”

“Yes, I did argue that point. But they countered that all combatants are Semblance capable, not all of them have wings.”

“So it’s a Faunus thing.” Blake stated the conclusion they’d all come to the moment Ironwood had stated the reason for disqualification. “There are other Faunus in the tournament and none of them have been kicked out.”

“Because they’ve been open about their nature.” Ironwood explained patiently, doing very well not to flinch under the angry glares from everyone except Weiss.

“And I suppose they’ve ignored the mitigating factor of who Weiss was raised by and what would have happened to her if he knew what she is?” Yang scoffed.

“Actually Miss Xiao Long, I suspect they haven’t ignored this factor at all.” Professor Ozpin broke in solemnly.

“What do you mean sir?” Ruby cocked her head in confusion, not quite paying attention to the argument, too busy trying to ground Weiss.

“The SDC is the primary sponsor of the Vytal Festival.” Blake informed them, scowling as Ozpin nodded in agreement.

“I suspect Jacques Schnee has placed pressure on the judges to decide upon this disqualification.” He gave Weiss a sympathetic look. “And he’s not the only one, there have been many calls from the public to remove you from the tournament as well as revise the rulings on Faunus participation.” That didn’t surprise Weiss at all, the decision to allow Faunus to compete was relatively recent and had been met with much backlash from certain sectors.

“So that’s it, we’re out.” Yang looked incredibly pissed off at the whole affair whilst Blake and Ruby just looked defeated.

“Not quite, I was able to negotiate with the committee and they agreed to only disqualify Miss Schnee, you Miss Xiao Long may take her place in the finals.” Ironwood said, though he still sounded unhappy that this was the only concession he got.

“I won’t do it. You think I’m going to keep participating in something that kicked out my friend for being a Faunus.” Yang stated defiantly, folding her arms and staring down the General.

“Very well, if that’s how you feel, I won’t stop you.” There was no disapproval in the General’s tone, but neither did he give any indication of him approving of the decision either.

“No.” They all turned to face Weiss as she finally spoke up. “Don’t quit because of me.”

“But then that means they’ve won Weiss.” Yang implored, though looking greatly relieved Weiss was talking again. “If we keep going it shows we don’t care about how unfair this is.”

“And how exactly is you pulling out of the tournament going to solve anything?” She asked, trying to keep her voice steady, but a nervous quaver still wormed its way in. “You think they care if one team pulls out because of this. An entire academy’s worth of teams could pull out and it wouldn’t make a difference. They don’t care about our rights or it being fair, the people just want to watch the fights and so long as it doesn’t affect them they’re content. This has all been blown out of proportion because of my last name, that’s it.” She looked up at Ironwood. “Yang isn’t going to forfeit.”

“Weiss, are you sure about this?” Yang asked, still looking conflicted and Weiss took a step over to rest a reassuring hand on her arm whilst trying to suppress the buzzing in her ears.

“I am and you’re going to win that tournament for us.” Weiss turned back to address Professor Ozpin. “If that’s all sir, I’m very tired and would very much like to go back to my room to rest before I have to deal with the fallout from this.” Ozpin however gave her a sympathetic look.

“I’m afraid Miss Schnee that is not all. Almost immediately after this unfortunate event was broadcast, I have been receiving calls from the SDC, from Jacques Schnee.” Weiss was sure what little colour her pale face had drained away at the mention of the man who’d once called himself her father.

“N-No I can’t talk to him not now, not yet.” She stammered out, the buzzing rushing back in, blanking out Ruby’s murmurs of encouragement as the younger girl immediately rushed to Weiss’ side, rubbing soothing circles into her back as her wings flared in fear. “I’m not ready.”

“And I am deeply sorry I can’t do more Miss Schnee, I’ve delayed things as long as possible but he has told me that if he doesn’t receive a call from you within the hour he’ll be forced to send men to return you to Atlas.”

“Can he do that?” Ruby asked, still keeping contact with Weiss.

“I’m afraid as he is her guardian and since Miss Schnee is still a minor, there is little we can do in such a short time.” General Ironwood spoke up, scowling. “Atlas is rather… _permissive_ when it comes to family law.” Weiss’ heart sank, the General was right which left her only one recourse.

“I-Is there somewhere I can speak to him, alone?” She silently cursed herself for her fear and nervousness, if she was going to speak with Jacques Schnee she needed to regain her composure.

“You may use the room below to make your call Miss Schnee, it is both private and has a holographic system, I feel this may be the sort of discussion that would be ill-suited to a small screen.”

“Are you sure you want to do this alone Weiss?” Ruby asked, eyes shining with the unspoken offer to be there with her.

“No, I’m not. But I have to.” Taking a deep breath, she started towards the lift doors, feeling akin to a woman walking towards the gallows. “Wait for me? At the base.”

“Always.” Ruby affirmed, trying to give a reassuring smile that was marred by her worry and concern. Nodding her thanks to the Professors, Weiss stepped into the lift and selected the next floor down. The last thing she saw as the doors slid shut were the faces of her team, a mix of worry and encouragement.

All too soon Weiss stepped into the private communication room and booted up the terminal. “Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Transmit centre, how may I help you.” As if her day couldn’t get any worse, she had to deal with these creepy machines as well.

“I’d like to make a call to the Schnee Company headquarters please.” There was something oddly familiar about the voice now, not just that it reminded her of the man she was about to call, something more recent.

“Certainly, if you could step onto the highlighted area for your projection I’ll put you through. If the system you are contacting does not support holographic projection, they will appear on the screen in front of you.” A circle lit up on the floor and Weiss stepped into it as the machine’s hummed and a connection was made. The screen in front lit up and Weiss was surprised to see the same woman who’d received her call before.

“Thank you for calling the- Oh.” She began rattling off the standard greeting then in a moment of déjà vu stopped dead the moment she looked up and saw who was calling.

“Good morning Miss… I’m sorry I never asked for your name last time we spoke.” Quite the oversight on Weiss’ part really, although it had been part of the persona she’d needed to project at the time.

“Oh, it’s Ochre, Miss Schnee.” Her eyes kept flitting to look at Weiss’ wings which were still loose and hung not quite relaxed behind her.

“Right Miss Ochre, I suppose you saw the broadcast from Amity Coliseum earlier?” Weiss was fortunate not to be talking to someone who was openly hostile to the Faunus, and today she was really counting her blessings.

“I did Miss Schnee...” She hesitated a moment and cast a glance over her shoulder. “I’m sorry that happened to you.” Weiss was taken aback by the sympathy from someone who was essentially a stranger.

“I-I, thank you Miss Ochre, it means a lot.” The woman nodded.

“You’re welcome Miss Schnee. I suppose you’re calling to talk to Mister Schnee?”

“I am, if you could put me through please.”

“Of course Miss Schnee.” Miss Ochre’s hand moved off-screen to press a few buttons. “Patching you through now. Oh and Miss Schnee? Good luck.” The screen then went blank leaving Weiss bolstered just a little bit as she waited for the call to connect. After a minute, a projector whirred into view and turned on forming a hologram of the man himself, Jacques Schnee. Dressed impeccably as always, a dark scowl lining his face as he sat behind his holographic desk. Weiss’ breath and heart seized up, she hadn’t seen or spoken to the man who’d caused her so much pain and anguish in months, but now all that came flooding back

“Weiss.” His voice came through the speaker and it was momentarily disconcerting to hear the voice that had haunted her nightmares clearly again. No she needed to focus, she couldn’t show any weakness.

“Good morning Mister Schnee.” She replied as coolly as she could manage.

“Not even going to call me ‘Father’ are you?” He sneered and that stirred some spark of rebellion in her.

“Oh please, you know that’s not true now, so let’s skip the unpleasantries why did you insist on calling?” Weiss stuffed her hands into her pockets to stop him from seeing her clenched fists.

“I don’t remember raising such a disobedient daughter.” Jacques snapped and Weiss was about to snap back with a retort that he never raised any of them but he ploughed on. “If you don’t know why I’m calling you’re more stupid than I thought. You’ve embarrassed the House of Schnee too much now. I could tolerate your decision to become a Huntress and even your decision to study at Beacon. I was even willing to overlook the unfortunate circumstances of your birth and kept you as heiress. But this is too far Weiss.”

“Kept me as heiress?” Weiss asked in complete confusion. “I thought you were calling to strip me of my title.”

“That remains to be seen, but I meant how I didn’t disinherit for being the filthy bastard of a Faunus you the moment you were born.”

The bottom of Weiss’ stomach dropped out from under her and the buzzing that had receded a little came back in full force.

“You knew? All this time you knew.”

“Of course I did.” He waved dismissively. “Who do you think had those accursed wings of yours removed in the first place?” She felt sick, she wanted to throw up. To stop talking to this man, if he even deserved be called that.

“Y-You did this to me?”

“I did you a favour Weiss. Just like I did for your sister by not throwing her out even though she was useless to me after that animal got his claws into her and poisoned her against me.” He spat venomously.

“I-I don’t understand...” Weiss whispered and Jacques shook his head in disappointment.

“And to think you’re my first choice as heir.” He stood up from the desk and began pacing. “I’ll explain it simply so your dumb animal brain can understand.” Weiss growled softly at his words. “A few years after your sister was born I found out your mother had been sleeping with that butler of hers. I already knew she wasn’t suitable to be heir but that she was a filthy Faunus just sealed the deal. I got rid of him eventually and had ensured he wouldn’t be a problem ever again. But I was too late, he’d already gotten your mother pregnant, with you.” He paused for a moment, stepping over to his liquor cabinet and pouring a whiskey as Weiss wrinkled her nose in disgust as this vile creature.

“I could have had you terminated, but I don’t like wasting assets until they’ve proven to be worthless. I hoped perhaps it wasn’t simply in the nature of a Faunus to be such worthless sub-human creatures. I hoped that with the correct tutoring you could be my heir. So I had any evidence that you were a Faunus removed, I’d hoped permanently but I can see that wasn’t the case, and raised you as my daughter and groomed you to be my successor as CEO.”

“So why did you keep me even after Whitley was born, you got your precious human child, a son no less. Why keep me?”

“Like I said I don’t like wasting assets and Whitley, though brilliant in his own right, lacks a certain ruthlessness required to run a company like the SDC, something you possess.” He reseated himself behind the desk, swirling his whiskey in thought. “Which brings us to the matter of your status. I believe this can still work out in both our favour. If you return to the Manor, renounce this idiotic dream of becoming a Huntress and do what you’re told, I think you can retain your position. This may even prove to be a boon for the company, with a Faunus as the heir apparent, those filthy animals in the White Fang can hardly call us prejudiced against them, not after I raised my wife’s bastard child as my own and even saw fit to name her my heir.” He took a gulp of his drink whilst Weiss seethed silently, waiting for his horrible speech to be finished.

“Fail to do this then I shall have you renounced, blacklisted from every agency that could ever give you employment and barred from every establishment I can have you barred from. Your life will be a living hell.” He finished his drink and looked smugly at Weiss. Any fear and tension she’d felt in anticipation of this meeting had been completely subsumed by rage. The buzzing was still there, but was almost unnoticeable behind the burning anger she felt as her wings flared out.

“Are you finished?” When he didn’t answer she continued. “Good, my turn.” She let a twisted grin worm its way onto her face. “Thank you for explaining everything so clearly so my feeble Faunus brain understands.” She retracted her hands from inside her pockets, withdrawing her scroll and the clearly visible recording she’d been making. She took great delight in the momentary flicker of fear in his eyes, her wings fluttering in satisfaction. “I’m sure there are a great many people who will be interested in hearing this.”

“There’s nothing incriminating on that recording.” Jacques stated flatly, anger flaring in his eyes.

“Maybe not, but it certainly doesn’t sound good does it? Threatening the girl you raised as your own daughter with financial ruin.” She could almost hear his teeth grinding. “And if that’s not enough for you I also have these.” She flicked through the scroll’s data files to find the ones she’d acquired all those months ago during their investigation of the White Fang. “I got these whilst checking for unreported thefts of SDC property by the White Fang. What I didn’t expect to find was all these mysterious shipments and payments being made to various unknown places and people. It wasn’t an easy paper trail to follow but I was raised to be your heir and I did enjoy learning accountancy.” it looked like a vein was bulging in his head. “There was also some files pertaining to the mistreatment of Faunus workers, but I know now most people won’t really care about that. What they will care about is how you’ve got almost every major political figure in your pocket presented in nice diagrams even the simplest of Faunus could understand.” Weiss paused to let her words sink in. “I’ve got multiple copies of this data, both hard and soft stored in various locations along with instructions to people I trust to release the information should anything happen to me.” The White Fang could learn a thing or two from her about blackmail.

“What do you want?” Jacques Schnee gritted out through his clenched teeth.

“I want to be left alone. I was originally going to get you to let me keep my position as heiress but after talking, I’ve decided I want nothing to do with you or your company. So go ahead and disinherit me, but if you do anything further to harm me or anyone close to me then everyone will know what you’ve done and just how corrupt you are.” Weiss stared the man down for several long moments before he looked away.

“Fine.”

“Then we’re done here. Don’t call, I won’t answer.” Weiss told him shortly and disconnected before he could. She made it into the lift and instructed it to return to the lobby before the full weight of the conversation hit her. She was disinherited, everything she’d worked for was gone. And Jacques Schnee, he’d been even more horrific than she’d ever imagined. And she’d lived in the same house as him, he’d thought all those things about her. He’d mutilated her at birth for his own twisted ends.

She was breathing fast, too fast, barely propping herself up against the lift wall as it slowed to a stop and opened on the lobby where an anxious Ruby was waiting, along with Yang and Blake.

“Weiss!” Ruby cried out and dashed over to catch her as she nearly toppled out onto the floor. “Are you alright, you don’t look well.”

“What happened in there?” Blake ran over to support Weiss’ other side

“Can we please go back to the dorm, I’ll tell you what happened when we get there.” Weiss asked quietly, not feeling up to talking much and the other three guided her out of the building and away to the dorms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations Jacques Schnee for being the worst pile of garbage so far in this fic! Like I thought I hated writing Cardin but turns out nope, really that was only mild dislike compared to how I feel about this smug git. Not really sure what else to say about this chapter as the culmination of a few plot threads that have been left dangling for a little while. Oh and I'm sure I'll find a way to bring back Miss Ochre sometime because I like her.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	53. Chapter 53

Ruby and Blake helped support the trembling Weiss back towards the dorm whilst Yang kept any passers-by at bay with her fiery red glare. Just as they reached the door to their room there was a sound behind and they turned to see Jaune poking his head out of Team JNPR’s room.

“Hi girls.”

“Hi Jaune.” Ruby’s usually chipper reply was somewhat muted but Jaune took it as enough of an invitation to open the door fully, revealing Ren and Nora hovering awkwardly behind him. Nora’s eyes widening almost comically as she saw Weiss’ wings whilst Ren stood impassively.

“We, uh, we saw what happened up at the coliseum and we wanted you to know that you’re our friend and this doesn’t change that, even if you weren’t our friend, this wouldn’t change anything.” Jaune rubbed the back of his neck in an oddly endearing way.

“Yeah! And if anyone gives you trouble for it, we’ll break their legs!” Nora punctuated her support by pounding her fist into her other hand, drawing a weak chuckle from Weiss.

“I can’t exactly condone violence, I appreciate the support. Thank you, all of you.”

“Yeah, Pyrrha wanted to be here too but she got called away to speak with Ozpin. Don’t know what for.” Jaune shrugged.

“Can you give her my thanks as well when she gets back?”

“I will, we’ll leave you to it.” Weiss nodded and Jaune carefully shut the door, leaving Team RWBY to enter their room and lock the door behind them.

“You okay Weiss?” Ruby asked, concerned settling down beside Weiss on her bunk.

“No, I’m not.” She admitted, unable to look up at her teammates as the black and yellow couple seated themselves opposite. “I-I’ve just had my greatest secret exposed on a national broadcast, been disqualified from the tournament and disinherited.”

“You’ve been what?” Yang asked, looking distraught by Weiss’ confession.

“I’m no longer heiress to the SDC.”

“Was this Jacques Schnee’s doing?” Blake looked more angry than upset with the whole affair.

“No, I was the one who told him to strip me of my title.” Weiss choked a little on her words. “Everything I’ve worked for I threw away on a whim because I was so repulsed by him.” Her girlfriend whined miserably, pulling in close to Weiss’ side and preening her feathers to try to comfort her.

“Was he really that bad?” Blake asked, though by her expression it looked as though no matter what Weiss said, she’d expected worse.

“H-He knew about my w-wings, he’s known since before I was born. He’s the one who had them cut off in the first place.” Yang’s jaw dropped in horror, though Blake seemed unsurprised by this. “All my life he’s seen me as nothing but an animal, he knew every time he spewed that hateful talk about the Faunus in front of me that I am one. I don’t even think he sees me as a person, not just because of what I am but because he kept talking about me as an asset.” Weiss inhaled deeply, trying to marshal her thoughts before continuing. “He wanted me to come back to Atlas and continue as heiress. He wanted to manipulate things so he looked like a hero, raising his wife’s Faunus bastard and being gracious enough to even make me his heir. Then people couldn’t complain he or the SDC are prejudiced against the Faunus.” There was a soft squeak from Ruby as she buried her face into the crook of Weiss’ neck, squeezing tightly.

“And I thought my mom was bad, I think you win worst parent.” Yang tried to inject some levity into the conversation but fell rather flat and left Weiss confused. Before she could ask how her mother could be so bad if Ruby took her to see her, Blake cut in.

“The White Fang would never accept that. I’m sorry Weiss, whilst you were talking to Jacques they made an official statement. It’s… not positive.” She fished out her scroll and tapped through a few pages. “If you don’t want to read it...”

“Of course I do.” Weiss took the proffered scroll and began to read the article.

_Following the shocking reveal this morning that Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company is a Faunus, the White Fang have released an official statement that has been corroborated by several independent sources._

‘ _In light of this revelation about Miss Schnee, the White Fang will not be changing any of our policies towards the Schnee Dust Company. Whilst we appreciate the difficulties Miss Schnee must have endured, we cannot condone her for living off the profits of a company that exploits the Faunus, in fact we condemn her for betraying her people like th_ is. If Miss Schnee does not take any action to correct this, our actions against her will not cease and we shall continue to consider her an enemy of the Faunus.’

_This statement comes from the High Leader of the White Fang, Sienna Khan and the sentiment has been echoed by several other Faunus unaffiliated with the White Fang who-_

Weiss all but threw the scroll back at Blake, she couldn’t bring herself to read any more. Slowly she started shaking, then her slightly crazed laughter became audible. Of course, of course It would be like this. Of course the White Fang wouldn’t change their views on her. She had to laugh, really she had to because she didn’t want to know what she’d do when she stopped.

“Princess, you’re scaring me.” Ruby pulled away from Weiss’ neck and pulled her head around to look at her. In between the shaking and laughter Weiss finally managed to choke some words out.

“They still hate me for being a Schnee and now the rest of the world hates me for being a Faunus. I just can’t win can I?” The pained laughter finally slowed to halt, but the shaking didn’t stop and instead tears started streaming down Weiss’ cheeks.

“But you’re not heiress any more, surely that counts as corrective action?” Yang suggested, frantic desperation slipping into her voice as she almost sprinted across the room to pull Weiss into a tight hug.

“It might to someone like Sienna, but there a lot of members who’re still blinded by the pain of what they been through. The SDC hasn’t been kind to us, any of us.” She looked pointedly over at Weiss who was still racked with sobs.

“What do we do then?” Ruby asked between trying to shush and reassure her girlfriend.

“Th-There’s nothing we can do.” Weiss pretty much wailed from her position crushed between the two sisters. “I-If I keep my head d-down maybe they’ll leave me alone. Especially if Jacques Schnee will keep his end of our bargain and release his statement saying I’ve stepped down as heiress.”

Blake’s eyes narrowed. “Weiss, what bargain?”

“I have information, when we were investigating the White Fang I found a paper trail. He’s been bribing almost every major politician in every kingdom for the last fifteen years. I made him agree to leave me alone in exchange for not releasing it.” Weiss looked up to see Blake’s eyes blazing angrily.

“You’ve had this information all this time and you didn’t do anything with it?!” She growled with barely suppressed rage.

“It was my last bargaining chip to get him to leave me alone.” Weiss defended herself, trying and failing to compose herself.

“And you didn’t think that maybe bringing down one of the most corrupt organisations in the world was worth doing?”

“Blake you don’t understand, I was still going to take over the company and fix things from within, there wasn’t any need to destroy my grandfather’s work.” Blake let out a short humourless laugh.

“Weiss you really thought that would work? Have I ever told you about Aster Azure? He was on the board of directors and he reached out to the White Fang, trying to work with us to improve Faunus rights. You know what happened to him?”

“Blake this isn’t helping.” Yang hissed at her girlfriend, looking appalled at the turn of events.

“He was found dead in a ditch. Same with every other member of the SDC who thought they could change it from the inside. It’s not just one man Weiss, Jacques Schnee is not the sole cause of our woes. Maybe he is for you, but for the rest of us it’s a relentless machine designed to keep us beaten down. Replacing him wouldn’t have made a difference.”

Yang stopped hugging Weiss and shot to her feet. “Blake you’re out of order, this isn’t what Weiss needs to hear right now.”

“She’s needed to hear this for a long time!” Blake spat back, ears flat against her head. “She’s never been able to think about the bigger picture, only concerned with how things affect her directly.”

“You don’t understand...” Weiss pleaded, looking up at the couple now glaring daggers at each other. “If I released this information before, he’d stop at nothing to destroy me and the people I love.” Weiss pulled her legs up off the floor and wrapped her arms and wings around herself. “He all but told me he had my father killed. I can’t risk losing you, any of you.” Ruby tried to wrap herself around Weiss but the white-hared girl shuffled away and the brunette drooped at the rejection.

“You’re being selfish Weiss, this is so much more important than that.” Blake asserted, ignoring Yang and addressing the huddled up ex-heiress.

“Not to me.” She looked up at the angry cat Faunus with teary eyes. “Maybe I am being selfish, but I would do _anything_ to keep the three of you safe.” Yang’s gaze flickered down to Weiss momentarily, and she knew exactly what the blonde was thinking of but she kept going. “Please Blake, it’s done now. I can’t break my end or whatever he would have done to you before would be inflicted tenfold. A Schnee’s word is our bond, at least he respects that much of the family name.”

Blake’s eyes were still narrowed in anger, ears twitching in agitation. “I can’t be here right now. I’m going for a walk.” She stalked over to her desk and snatched up her bow, affixing it more firmly than usual and storming out of the room.

“Are you going to go after her?” Ruby asked her sister who was frozen, gaze fixed on the closed door.

“No.” Yang shook her head and sat back down beside Weiss. “She was way out of line for saying that stuff to you.” She tried to reassure her friend but was met with a mournful whisper.

“Do you agree with her? Have I been too selfish?” Yang hesitated before speaking, but that was all Weiss needed to hear.

“I can’t answer that right now Weiss, you’re stressed and you’ve had a truly awful day-.” The white-haired girl tuned out Yang’s words. It wasn’t all that surprising that Yang would side with her girlfriend, she supposed it was ironic that her efforts to protect her family only served to tear it apart. She could vaguely hear Ruby and Yang discussing something, but she wasn’t paying attention, instead focusing on the thrumming buzz in her ears. She was torn between ignoring Yang and going after Blake to somehow make amends and hiding in the dorm for the rest of her time at Beacon. Nothing else could go wrong if she stayed away from it all.

“Weiss? Weiss?” Ruby’s voice sounded close to her ear and she started, looking to her girlfriend. “Are you alright? You looked like you checked out for a bit.”

“I’m fine.” Weiss lied, trying for a convincing smile but Ruby looked sceptical.

“Do you want to take a nap or something?”

“What I really want is for today to never have happened.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Yang chipped in from behind. “I agree with Rubes though, maybe you should take a nap, it’ll help calm you down and things will feel better afterwards.” A nap did sound good about now, she was absolutely exhausted. From the fight and the confrontation with Jacques Schnee. Nodding limply, the other two vacated the bed and Weiss, not bothering to get changed, crawled under the covers and nestled down.

“You want me to stay with you?” Ruby asked softly and at her girlfriend’s noise of approval sat back down beside her and started stroking her hair, smoothing out the tangled mess. “Even if the world’s against you Weiss, you’ll always have me and Yang, Blake as well once she calms down.”

Ruby’s words brought a faint smile to the tired girl’s face. “Love you Ruby.”

The last words she heard before drifting off to sleep were accompanied by a gentle kiss pressed to her temple. “Love you too Weiss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I take back anything I said about other chapters being hard to write. This has by far been the worst. It's quite a bit shorter than I'd like because there's only so much angst and misery I can write at a time. Weiss has had a really bad time of it and it's not over yet. I wonder whether Blake comes off as too unsympathetic in this. Probably, but she is being kind of a jerk to Weiss when she really doesn't need it.   
> As a side note because it's been asked about and commented upon but I've realised it's never going to come up in fic, the buzzing Weiss hears whenever she's distressed and what it is. As with several details in the work it comes from personal experience, I have tinnitus and it gets worse whenever I'm stressed out or whatever. So there's the reason she hears buzzing.
> 
> As always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	54. Chapter 54

When Weiss awoke, it was to a grinning blonde who most certainly wasn’t Yang.

“Ack!” She shrieked, wings flailing at the intruder who leaped back smirking smugly. “Sun what are you doing here?”

“I came to see you ice queen!” The monkey Faunus told her cheerfully, perching himself on a chair he must have dragged into the centre of the room.

“What, why are you here to see me and not Blake?” Weiss pulled herself into a sitting position and looked around the room.

“Uh, you got outed on live TV as a Faunus and disqualified from the tournament. I know you don’t like me much, but I wanted check up on you and make sure you’re okay.” Oh right, the weight of that morning’s events came crashing down upon her, though oddly the burden felt lighter somehow. Perhaps Ruby had been right and sleeping on it had helped, it felt a lot more distant and more in perspective now. It wasn’t as though she could change what had already happened.

“Where are Ruby and Yang?” Only just now noticing their absence.

“No idea, room was empty other than you when I came in through the window.” Sun shrugged and Weiss gave him a flat look.

“You broke into a girls’ dorm room through the window who’s only occupant was a sleeping girl. And you thought this was a good idea because…?”

“Okay when you say it like that it sounds kinda creepy.” Sun chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

“Just a little bit.” She snarked drily, climbing out of bed and looking out the window over the grounds.

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. I couldn’t come any earlier, Nep and I only just finished up our match and I’m through to the finals.”Weiss just gave him a look.

“Gee, that must be great, I wonder what it must be like to be able to compete in the finals.”

“Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot.”

“You mentioned it less than a minute ago.” Sun looked incredibly sheepish under Weiss’ baleful gaze.

“I did, didn’t I? I don’t really think stuff through and forget stuff all the time, sorry.”

Weiss just rolled her eyes and looked back out the window. “Speaking of Neptune, you didn’t bring him along did you?”

Sun shuffled in placed for a moment. “No I didn’t, I didn’t think you’d want to see him after what he said to you when you were disguised as Ebony. I told him afterwards what he said wasn’t okay but he sort of brushed it off. He’s not a bad guy though, really.”

“I’m sure he’s a real stand up guy if he needs you to defend him so much.” Weiss pointed out, something Sun didn’t have an answer for. She was starting to feel increasingly restless. She needed to do something other than stay cooped up in here feeling sorry for herself. The past can’t change but she could do something about the future and that started with making amends with Blake. Of course, she had no idea where Blake was. Pondering this conundrum, she turned away from the window and her eye settled on the solution.

“Right, I’ve got something I need to do and I don’t trust you alone in our room so you’re coming with me.” Before Sun could protest, Weiss grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the door, snatching up her scroll along the way.

“Wait! What are we doing?” Sun cried as he was hauled bodily along the hallway. “Can you at least let me walk on my own?”

 Weiss released her hold on Sun’s arm and turned to face him. “There was an argument so now I need to patch things up with Blake but I don’t know where she is and you seem to have a knack for finding her so you are helping me.” Without waiting for a response, she resumed her march down the corridor.

“Geez, okay. Not even a please.” Sun teased as he trotted up behind the ex-heiress, causing her to stop dead in her tracks and rub at her temples in mild aggravation.

“Sorry Sun.” She sighed, dropping her hands to look up at her companion properly. “I’ve got a lot on my mind right now. Today has been an awful day and I’m not coping well. I just need to do  _something_  other than sitting in the dorm all day feeling sorry for myself.”

“Yeah, I get that. I get restless sometimes too, I just have to do something or I’ll go mad, ‘specially if I’m cooped up somewhere. I mean I haven’t been in the spot you’re in right now so I guess I don’t quite get it. But we’ve got more in common than I thought so maybe I can kinda understand and I’m rambling now so I’ll be quiet now.” Sun grinned awkwardly as Weiss blinked in shock for a few moments before finding her voice.

“That was certainly something.”

“I talk a lot sometimes as well, Scarlet normally stops me before I say something too embarrassing like the time I was telling someone about how a couple of years ago I forgot to bind and-.”

“Sun!” Weiss interrupted before he could continue with his probably quite personal tale. “Consider me as your Scarlet stand-in, so take a breath and please relax for a moment.” She waited patiently as Sun did as instructed and a brief look of horror flashed across his face.

“I started rambling again didn’t I?”

“Yes you did, so maybe let’s keep you distracted with finding Blake hmmm?” Weiss stepped aside allowing a lightly flushed Sun to lead the way down the stairs towards the courtyard.

“Ya know I was just joking about the saying please thing right? I’m just trying to lighten the mood since you’ve had such a rough day.”

“Yes, well I appreciate the sentiment, even if the execution could use some work.” She gave Sun a faint smile that faded as they emerged from the building into the courtyard and were met by several stares. There were more people around now and without Yang to glare at them threateningly, they goggled unabashedly at the newly revealed Faunus. Weiss squirmed uncomfortably under their gazes and her wings pulled in tight to her back.

“You want me to do anything?” Sun muttered, eyeing up the nearest group of boy who looked to be snickering about something and throwing pointed looks at Weiss.

“No thank you Sun, this is what it’s going to be like from now on, I should get used to it.” And holding her head up high, though her twitching wings belied her nervousness, she stalked imperiously forward across the courtyard Sun trailing after. “So how do you find Blake?”

“Well I normally just kind of wander around and I just sort of bump into her.”

“That really works?” Weiss’ eyebrow rose in scepticism.

“Yep, pretty much.” He grinned and Weiss just sighed, this maybe wasn’t such a good idea. “Well, there are a few places I check first.”

“Such as?”

“Well, the library, the café, that bench in the main courtyard under the willow tree.” Sun ticked off the various locations on his fingers as they walked through the covered walkways towards the main courtyard.

“Well it’s a relief we aren’t going to just be wandering aimlessly.” Weiss sighed, neatly sidestepping a student who deliberately tried to shoulder check her. “We’re checking the courtyard first right?”

“Yep, then we’ll swing by the library on the way to the café. Hopefully we won’t need to wander too much and there she is. Well that was easy.” The pair emerged out into the main courtyard and sure enough there was Blake curled up on the bench beneath the willow. “Do you want me to hang back or…?”

“Could you just stay back a bit at first, I think a buffer may be useful.” Weiss took a deep breath to steel herself, then strode resolutely over to the curled up cat Faunus. “Blake?” The dark-haired girl’s ears shot up and she looked over at Weiss an odd mixture of emotions flashing across her face at the sight of the ex-heiress and her nervously fluttering wings. “We need to talk.”

After a moment, Blake responded, uncurling and shifting across the bench. “I suppose so.” Taking this an an invitation, Weiss sat down beside Blake whilst Sun hovered awkwardly nearby. After another moment of silence, Weiss opened her mouth to speak but was cut off. “I’m sorry for getting angry Weiss, you’ve had a truly awful day and you needed us to be supportive but I let my feelings get the best of me.” Blake sighed, ears drooping in shame and not quite looking at Weiss.

“Blake, it’s okay.”

“No it isn’t, some friend I am. I kind of understand Yang a bit better now, how it feels to get so angry about things that it spills over and can even get directed at people who don’t deserve it. And… I was afraid too. My worst nightmare, probably yours as well, pretty much just came true. If I’m outed, I have no protection against what happens.”

“Yes you do, you have us. Yang, me and Ruby. Plus I’m sure Sun and plenty of other people will support you.”

“I suppose...” Blake still sounded doubtful. “You know I’m still mad about you keeping that data to yourself.”

“I still intended to take over the SDC, make it a force for good. A hostile takeover by releasing that data wouldn’t help that.” The cat Faunus frowned unhappily at Weiss

“And I’ve told you, you can’t change it from the inside. I’ve told you, people who tried failed and often paid with their life. It’s broken beyond repair so the only thing we can do is tear it down and that data will start that without the need for violence.” She implored the bird Faunus, eyes wide and almost pleading.

“It’s a moot point either way, I’ve given my word I won’t release the information as long as Jacques Schnee keeps his end.”

“Then let me do it. I’ll take the responsibility.”

“Uh, I hate to interrupt but can you explain to the guy who’s not following any of this what you’re both talking about?” Sun interrupted, leaning over the back of the bench between the two girls. Weiss sighed and looked to Blake who just shrugged non-committally.

“I _acquired_ some data from the SDC detailing how Jacques Schnee has been bribing politicians and other people of import. I used it as blackmail to ensure he would leave us alone now that I’ve been outed.” Weiss shot her dark-haired companion a look. “Blake disagrees, she thinks I should have released the information, that I still should.”

Blake nodded along with the assessment. “Most people don’t care about Faunus rights, but they do care about corruption, go figure. If this information gets released people will lose all faith in their politicians, the backlash against the SDC will be enormous, maybe even big enough to topple the entire thing as well as these people who Jacques Schnee clearly had bribed for a reason. We can strike a massive blow against the system for Faunus rights and not a drop of blood needs to be shed. The best of both worlds.”

“Then what?” The two girls just stared at Sun, perplexed. “I mean I haven’t been an activist or raised to be a CEO so maybe I’m off the mark. But what happens next?”

Blake blinked in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“Well, if this information is so damning that it could topple the SDC entirely, what happens to all the Dust supplies? They provide the vast majority of Dust related products right?” He looked to Weiss for confirmation and she nodded. “If they’re gone do all the other smaller suppliers try to take over? And if all the politicians are ruined, are they going to all be ousted? The who takes their place? Are there going to be mass elections?” Sun took a deep breath. “Blake, maybe you’re right about working from the inside being ineffectual at best, but when you’ve torn it down from the outside, what do you replace it with?”

Both Blake and Weiss just stared in blank disbelief at Sun, clearly Weiss had underestimated the carefree young man. “I-I…” The cat Faunus tried to formulate some sort of response. “I never really thought about it.” She finally admitted sheepishly, dropping her face into her hands. “I… can’t believe I never planned any further ahead.”

“Hey, it’s okay. We don’t need to have everything figured out now. We’re not adults yet really, we’re still seventeen.”

“Eighteen, it was my birthday two weeks ago.” Weiss just groaned.

“What is it with my team and not telling me about their birthdays?” She asked of no one in particular, but it was beside the point. “Anyway, either way we’re still students, still attending school. It’s not our responsibility to fix the world right now.”

“You’ve been preparing to take over the SDC for most of your life, I’ve been an activist for all of mine and we’re both learning to be huntresses. I think fixing the world has always been our responsibility.” Blake pointed out wryly.

“Perhaps, but I’m no longer heiress. So maybe I should take a break.” She paused as she looked out over the courtyard and at the people walking by and gawking through the leafy branches. “I’m not going to stop trying to make the world a better place, but I need to take some time to work out who Weiss Schnee, the Faunus is. And since I’m taking a break, maybe you should too.” Blake followed Weiss’ gaze as she turned the words over in her head.

“It might be nice to not have the world’s burdens on my shoulders for a while.” She conceded.

“We’ve both carried them for a long time.” Weiss agreed and Sun nodded, still looking a little lost but happy they were getting along. “Shall we head back to the dorm then? Maybe Yang and Ruby are back and I’m getting a little restless just sitting here.” Blake raised an eyebrow a this.

“Really? You’re not normally so restive.”

“I don’t know really, I just feel this need to do something.” Weiss shrugged. “So shall we?”

“I think so, I need to apologise to the others as well for shouting at them too.” Blake rose to her feet and stretched out in a manner very reminiscent of a cat after a long nap in the sun and Weiss did the same, flexing out her wings.

“Well, I guess that’s my cue to leave, I shall see you around and Yang in the finals.” And with a cheeky grin, Sun trotted off, tail swishing happily.

“Thanks for the help Sun.” Weiss called after him before turning and starting to make her way alongside Blake back to the dorm.

“So many people must have asked you this today, but are you doing alright?” Blake asked.

“Better now I think, it feels that the worst is behind me. And besides, tomorrow can’t be any worse.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well Weiss certainly seems better and I'm sure she's totally fine now. And we get to meet Sun properly and not with Neptune, we'll be seeing more of the former later. Weiss has a lot of thinking to do now, because whether she knows it or not, she's kind of become the most visible Faunus out there and all that entails. I was also wondering if people noticed last chapter that it was the first time Ruby said she loves Weiss after a few weeks of dancing around it without Weiss really noticing.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	55. Chapter 55

As Weiss stared listlessly out of the window at the rolling waves below the airship, Weiss wondered how everything had gone so horribly wrong. A cough from the man beside her shocked her into sitting up straight, his intimidating presence bringing back unpleasant memories of Atlas. Sighing in dejection, she thought back to that morning, before her whole world fell apart.

* * *

 

It transpired Ruby and Yang had left to try one last time to get Weiss reinstated in the tournament, only to be met with failure. Though Weiss appreciated the sentiment, she’d somewhat come to terms with her disqualification. True, it was awful she’d been ejected for such blatantly prejudiced reasons, but she hadn’t really wanted to participate in the finals in the first place. Not to mention without the burden of taking over the SDC and being obliged to make effective change she felt freer than she’d ever felt before.

The next morning, Weiss awoke to a far more pleasant sight than Sun’s face. None of them had wanted to sleep alone after the day they’d had, so Weiss was greeted with her darling Ruby’s face, looking peaceful and content, snoring lightly and dead to the world. Planting a soft kiss on her girlfriend’s cheek, Weiss tried to pull herself upright, only for Ruby to wrap herself closer around her and pull her back down.

“No, stay.” She mumbled sleepily, burying her face in the crook of Weiss’ neck and refusing to move.

“We have to get up some time liebling.” Weiss murmured half-heartedly, it was incredibly comfy here in Ruby’s embrace. Deciding it wouldn’t hurt to sleep in a little while longer, she pulled Ruby a little tighter and sighed in quiet contentment.

“How are you feeling?” Ruby’s voice was muffled by Weiss’ neck but she was just about understandable.

“Right now? Happy, so very happy just being with you.” The ex-heiress was rewarded with a squeak of glee and a light kiss pressed against her skin. “In general though? I don’t really know. It’s all still raw and new.” A hum of agreement from Ruby. “But I have you and the others so I know I get through it all.” A dark thought crossed Weiss’ mind as Ruby rubbed gentle circles into her side.

“Ruby? You don’t mind dating an out Faunus do you?” Ruby’s hand stilled and she pulled her face back to look at Weiss, eyes wide with concern and confusion.

“Of course I don’t, I love you princess, all of you.” A hand ghosted over one of Weiss’ splayed out wings making the Faunus shiver.

“I know, it’s just... now I no longer have the responsibilities of being heiress I want to be public with our relationship.” Ruby broke into a wide smile and moved in to kiss Weiss but was held back as Ruby continued. “But I’m scared of the repercussions for you. You remember when we went on our date in Vale? They said such awful things about you and I don’t want that.”

Ruby frowned in disappointment at Weiss’ words. “I’m a lot tougher than you seem to think princess, you don’t need to protect me so much.”

“I know, but I still want to, you’re still young and optimistic, unlike me. I don’t want anything to damage that.” Weiss averted her eyes somewhat guiltily at just how far she’d gone to protect Ruby, only to receive a light flick to her forehead.

“What did we say about putting each other on pedestals?”

“That we shouldn’t and it’s not healthy for our relationship.” Weiss mumbled in admission. Shortly after they’d gotten together, they’d talked about their mutual feelings of insecurity about the other and how it had held them back from confessing.

“Exactly.” The brunette planted a soft kiss on the tip of Weiss’ nose. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s cute you want to protect and look after me. But let me look after myself and you as well, okay?” Weiss nodded dumbly as her girlfriend moved back down to her neck. “In fact, let me do that right now.” The ex-heiress was about to ask what she meant by that but her question was cut off by a soft moan of pleasure as Ruby kissed and nipped at her neck. Her eyes flickered shut as she brought up a hand to tangle in the brunette’s hair. This continued for a few minutes, until they were interrupted by a sleepily irritated voice from across the room.

“You two better not be doing what I think you’’re doing over there.” Weiss squeaked in fear and in her efforts to separate from Ruby, ended up toppling out of bed in a mass of blankets and feathers.

“Yaaaaang! We weren’t doing anything bad.” Ruby moaned, crawling over to help her girlfriend to her feet. Yang looked at the pair disapprovingly from beneath her tangled mess of hair whilst Blake’s amber gaze remained unblinking and inscrutable from beneath several layers.

“You were starting to get hot and heavy over there, I like to think I’m quite relaxed about what I’m okay with you two doing together whilst I’m around. But I’m gonna draw a line at necking.”

“Yang, you don’t get to dictate what we can and can’t do together.” Ruby shot back, now disentangling Weiss from her sheets and smoothing out dislodged feathers.

“You’re right I don’t, when you’re alone I don’t care so long as it’s not illegal.” The red and white pair paused for a second, the fact that Weiss would legally be an adult in a few weeks, throwing their relationship status into slightly murky waters, hadn’t really come up before. “But this is about you remembering there are other people around who might not be so comfortable with seeing you get it on and haven’t consented to it.” Weiss blushed heavily as she realised Yang’s point, and from the guilty head hanging, Ruby had as well.

“I think we need to have a proper discussion about boundaries and the room later.” Blake contributed, sliding out from under the covers.

“Yeah, we should. Sorry.” Ruby mumbled her apology matched by Weiss’ own demure ‘sorry’

“It’s fine, really it’s been kinda overdue.” Yang waved off their apologies as she too climbed out of bed and started gathering her things for the coming day.

“How are you feeling about the final?” Weiss ask

* * *

ed, finally free and able to stand up properly.

“Eh? Fine I guess, kind of annoyed I’m getting thrust in without the extra training you did.” Yang shrugged, grabbing her various shampoos and conditioners.

“I’m sorry...” The ex-heiress apologised again, unable to meet the blonde’s eyes.

“Hey, none of that. it’s not your fault Jacques Schnee and the rest are a bunch of bigoted assholes.”

“If I’d just been more careful though.” Weiss protested weakly, once again feeling the thrumming restlessness, the need to do something.

“It was an accident Weiss, stop beating yourself up about it. I need to get ready, I may not be prepared but I’m sure as hell gonna look my best!” And with that, she vanished into the bathroom, blowing a kiss to Blake as she went.

“I guess we’re just waiting then.” Ruby shrugged and crawled back into bed. “C’mon princess, we can get some extra snuggle time in, if you’re okay with that Blake?” The cat Faunus waved a hand in dismissal, not looking up from the book that seemed to have materialised in her hands.

“Snuggle to your heart’s content, I don’t mind.” She drawled and with permission granted, Ruby proceeded to whine and make grabby hands for Weiss which she just stared at, eyebrow raised.

“Well with an invitation like that, how can I refuse?” Weiss acquiesced, stepping forward to allow her girlfriend to grab her and pull her back into bed, Ruby’s presence helping to ease the restiveness. “Only for a few more minutes though.”

* * *

 

The journey up to the coliseum had been awkward to say the least, the last few days Weiss had only had to deal with the reactions of other students. As it turned out these were far less extreme than those of the public. Many sneered in outright disgust as she’d forgone any jacket, instead stuffing her scroll and the ring box into her trouser pockets and letting her wings stay out on display. It was almost as though there was some form of barrier which kept people at least two feet away as she, Ruby and Blake made their way into the stands. This was of course excepting the few who decided to get in her face and would try to deliberately barge into her, often muttering expletives and insults as they did so.

The three settled down as they watched the eight finalists emerge onto the stage. Three of them, Weiss only recognised from her research, but the others were familiar. Yang of course, stood there soaking up the attention and basking in the cheers of the crowds, though still looking more than a little uneasy about it all. Pyrrha looked distinctly uneasy, but Weiss just chalked it up to the sort of nervousness they’d talked about in the library. Sun too was enjoying the attention and cheering and once again Weiss was confronted with the mildly uncomfortable knowledge that people thought his abs were sign worthy. Penny just looked to be pleased to be out there in the finals smiling happily up at the crowds. All in all not a bad line-up, Weiss would’ve felt reasonably confident fighting against almost all these competitors.

What concerned Weiss was the last finalist: Mercury. He was surveying the audience with a cocky smirk, as though he knew something they didn’t. Normally she would have chalked it up to over-confidence, but their encounter with Emerald down at the fairgrounds put some doubt in her mind.

“And now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the one-on-one finals!” Professor Port announced loudly, drawing more cheers from the spectators. “Barty, why don’t you explain the rules?”

“Why certainly Peter, it’s quite simple really: each of the eight contenders will be randomly selected for a match immediately before said fight, the loser is eliminated, the winner advances until there is only one left standing!” Oobleck explained in his usual rapid-fire speech.

“Yes, like any good hunt, there is no time to prepare.” Port chortled heartily, though Weiss had to disagree. Forewarned was forearmed and more hunter deaths on the job could be attributed to poor preparation than any other cause except perhaps weapon malfunction.

“Yes indeed! Now let’s see our first match.” The holographic screens appeared and began spinning wildly before settling on Mercury and Yang.

“Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black!” Weiss had a sinking feeling, maybe it was the after effects of yesterday but she had some gut instinct that this was not going to go well. Yang had admitted to a weakness against his style

Yang and Mercury approached each other as the other competitors retreated and the centre of the arena rose up. The pair squared up, Weiss couldn’t make out what they were saying but both dropped into a ready stance.

“3… 2… 1… Begin!” Yang’s fist shot out but was caught by Mercury’s greaves, the shockwave of the collision knocking both back. Yang easily flipped over his follow-up charge but her shotgun blast was just as easily deflected, followed up by a fast trading of blows Weiss couldn’t quite catch. That was until both competitors landed a solid blow to the centre mass of the other, once again sending them skidding back away from each other.

Yang tried to take advantage of the distance by unleashing more rounds but Mercury was too fast and weaved around to quickly close the gap and attempted a powerful axe kick that Yang managed to block and throw him backwards on the reply. Again there was another swift melee wherein Mercury managed to miss a kick that was hard enough to shatter the steel of the arena floor. The swift flurry of blows was ended when Yang landed an elbow into Mercury’s stomach sending him reeling backwards. This time the follow-up shotgun blasts forced him into a series of back flips until the last connected and sent him falling off the edge.

Weiss leaned forward in excitement, could this be the end? But she was disappointed when Mercury used his greaves to propel himself back onto the platform and before Yang could react he took control of the next phrase, forcing Yang to block and dodge until put some distance between them and duck out of the way of a projectile. Then Mercury proceeded to do something very strange, he just started firing the blazing white projectiles in a circle, not even bothering to aim at Yang. Then she saw they weren’t dissipating and were instead spiralling around and up and Yang hadn’t noticed, too busy closing the distance. Weiss wanted to shout at Yang to look out, but it was too late.

With a couple of powerful kicks, Yang was sent crashing into the ground with the whirling energy blasts all descending upon her, pummelling the downed girl whilst Mercury brushed himself off and started to walk away. But Yang couldn’t be down yet, there was no announcement. And, sure enough, there was an almighty explosion of flames that dissipated the smoke from Mercury’s attack revealing a brightly burning Yang, eyes that deep angry red. She moved too fast to see and despite Mercury’s attempt to land a roundhouse kick, Yang ducked under and just whaled on the young man. Blow after blow was landed, the penultimate one cracking his aura and the final punch to the face sending him crashing to the floor.

A loud buzzer sounded and the platform began to descend as the crowds roared their approval. She’d won! Yang had won! Blake was on her feet, cheering loudly as Port and Oobleck started talking.

Then it happened.

As Mercury was getting to his feet and Yang was walking past to the exit she turned and fired a shot directly into his leg. There was a horrible sickening crack and Mercury was wailing on the floor in pain.

No no no, this couldn’t be happening.

This was wrong. Blake’s hands covered her mouth and Ruby’s cheers stopped abruptly as several Atlesian knights and soldiers burst into the arena accompanied by Emerald. But Yang didn’t seem to notice until she was surrounded and ordered to stand down. The crowd started booing and yelling angrily at Yang who just looked confused as the large screens replayed the scene.

“We need to go, now!” As Ruby wasn’t taking charge, too busy staring in horror down at her sister, it fell to Weiss instead. “Come on!” She insisted, grabbing Blake’s wrist and trying to pull her away only for it to be snatched back. “Blake?” There was so much fear and panic in Blake’s eyes then she was gone in a whisper of shadow, leaving Ruby and Weiss alone in a crowd crying out in outrage at Yang accompanied by Mercury’s screams of pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure most of you knew this was coming but finally it's here. And I'm sorry for what's to come. Not much to this besides the fight and the cute domestic stuff, which I'm sure won't be the last of that. It's the aftermath where we really get to see some of the the minor changes to Yang and Blake shine.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	56. Chapter 56

“Come on Blake, pick up.” Weiss growled in frustration as Blake’s scroll went to voice mail again. After the cat Faunus had vanished, something Weiss was still berating herself for, she’d pulled a still stunned Ruby and out into the corridors of the stadium. Blake had told her she didn’t like to be grabbed by the arm, although ‘didn’t like’ was a bit of an understatement, but she’d done it anyway because she didn’t think. She didn’t know what came first, finding Blake or going to fetch Yang. Maybe if she found Blake she could help with Yang, but she needed help right now and couldn’t wait whilst Weiss embarked on amanhunt for the elusive cat Faunus.

She tried calling Blake again, but still there was no answer so Weiss stuffed her scroll back in her pockets and redoubled her efforts to get to the competitor’s area as quickly as possible.

“Weiss? What’s going on?” Ruby asked pitifully from behind her as she was being dragged resolutely forward.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know. But we are going to get to the bottom of this.” Weiss tried to reassure her as she navigated down the stairs.

“Yang hasn’t hurt anyone like this in years.” Weiss froze and turned back to face her partner.

“Ruby, listen to me, this could be very important. How long ago was this and what happened.” This was bad, if Yang had a history of violence like this, it would not look good to any officials.

“Uh, it was back at Signal, like five years ago. Some older boys were harassing her ‘cause someone spread this rumour that she slept with a bunch of people so she broke one guy’s arm and gave another a concussion.” Weiss exhaled sharply, that did not sound good at all.

“What happened afterwards?” She needed all the details, if she was going to help Yang, she needed to lock down all the variables.

“She got suspended for a few months and had to see a therapist and it went on her permanent record.” Ruby babbled looking fearful as Weiss groaned.

“This is not good…” Taking Ruby’s hand again, she continued to lead the way, wings flapping in distress. “This is very not good.”

“But Yang’s not like that any more.” Ruby said plaintively as they approached the combatants’ entrance.

“I know she’s not, but to anyone else assessing this, she has a history of violence against others and injuring them quite severely.” Weiss stopped again before they could enter. “Ruby, we all saw Yang shoot and severely injure Mercury after the fight was over. Even if it was like those boys at Signal there’s no justifying it. It’s bad Ruby, it’s really bad.” Ruby nodded despondently and Weiss hated herself for telling her this.

“Let’s just go talk to her.” Ruby marched forward toward the entrance which Weiss only just now noticed was flanked by two Atlesian guards who upon Ruby’s approach, levelled their weapons at her. “Eeep, uh just passing through.” Ruby chirped nervously, staring down the barrels of two rifles as Weiss ran over wings flaring in anger.

“What do you think you’re doing?” She shouted at the two men who immediately pointed their guns at her instead, bringing her screeching to a halt, hands raised.

“No-one’s allowed in this area right now birdie, so why don’t you and your little pal just move on.” One of the soldiers drawled, gesturing with his gun at Ruby who stood very still as did Weiss, both soldiers had their fingers on the triggers.

“Our teammate’s in there.” Ruby protested, still keeping an eye on the weapons, they could easily take a few shots from them but that would look even worse.

“You mean the blonde brute who shattered that poor boy’s leg?” The other soldier spoke then spat on the ground. “I’m not surprised she’d do something like that if she’s on a team with riff raff like you.” He addressed Weiss who had to fight hard not to flex her wings lest they take it as an excuse to open fire.

“Please, can’t we just see her?” Ruby pleaded with the soldiers but they stood firm.

“No one gets in or out. Now, move along or-.”

“What’s happening out here?” A loud familiar voice sounded from behind the soldier who snapped to attention as General Ironwood emerged flanked by several soldiers and in their midst walked a very dejected and sorrowful Yang.

“Yang!” Before anyone could stop her, Ruby dashed over to her sister in a burst of petals and wrapped her in an enormous hug, ignoring the two rifles once again pointed at her.

“What on Remnant do you think you’re doing?” Ironwood asked in shock at his two soldiers.

“Sir, that girl and her pet over there tried to get into the combatants’ area without authorisation.” One of the me gestured over to Weiss who General Ironwood hadn’t noticed.

“What?!”

“General Ironwood sir, Ruby and I came down to see Yang and to do whatever we could to assist, but as we approached the entrance these two.” She gestured at the soldiers who were now exchanging nervous glances. “Pointed their weapons at us without any warning or provocation.”

“She’s lying sir, she’s a _Faunus_.” One of the men stammered out as Ironwood glared down at him.

“And what exactly does her species have to do with this?” Weiss had to suppress an evil grin as the soldiers quailed under the General’s glare.

“It uh-.” One tried to babble out but was cut off by Ironwood raising his hand in dismissal.

“I’ve heard enough, I shall deal with you two later, you’re dismissed, return to base at once.” Snapping a salute, the pair marched away as quickly as dignity allowed whilst Ironwood shook his head in disappointment.

“Thank you General.” Weiss addressed the man who now turned back to face Yang and the still clinging Ruby.

“I wouldn’t thank me just yet Miss Schnee, I feel it best if the two of you come with us. We need to sort this mess out.” He gestured and led the way, followed by the remaining soldiers and the sisters with whom Weiss fell into step with.

“You alright?” She whispered to the blonde, but Yang remained silent so Weiss reached out and gave her hand a comforting squeeze, noting the distinctive absence of Ember Celica around her friend’s wrists.

General Ironwood led the group over to a smart military airship, probably his own, something which was confirmed as he piloted it down to the main Beacon airfields.

“Don’t want to parade you past all the fair attendees.” He explained as they touched down.

“Are we going to see Professor Ozpin?” Ruby asked tentatively.

“No, the Vale council have placed me in charge of handling of this incident.” He sighed deeply. “Perhaps it would be easier if we conducted this in more familiar surroundings, could one of you two please lead us to your dorm room?” Weiss and Ruby glanced between themselves, communicating silently. Then Weiss stepped forward and began leading the way, all the while sending message after message to Blake.

The walk seemed to stretch on forever and had the awful feeling of leading a hangman’s procession, but soon enough they arrived at Team RWBY’s dorm room.

“You two wait outside.” The General instructed his escorts who saluted and took up positions either side of the door as Weiss opened it to reveal an empty room save for a suspiciously Blake-sized lump in the dark-haired girl’s bunk. Upon hearing the door open, the lump shot up to reveal it was indeed Blake looking scared and wild-eyed, not helped by General Ironwood following Weiss into the room and raising an eyebrow at the cat Faunus.

“Miss Belladonna, I was wondering where you were.” She drew back in fear a little and Ironwood glanced at Weiss questioningly.

“She’s been quite ill this morning.” Weiss lied smoothly, stepping over and offering a hand to her friend who after a moment of contemplation, took it and allowed herself to be pulled upright to sit on the bunk facing the other side where Ruby and Yang seated themselves. “I’m sorry.” The ex-heiress whispered as the General closed the door behind them and began to pace the room.

“I hope you four appreciate what a difficult position I’ve been placed in.” Of course he’s the one in a difficult position, not the young woman who just had what was possibly the worst day of her life. “Miss Xiao Long’s unprovoked attack on Mr Black has left us with no choice.”

“But he attacked me, I told you at the coliseum!” Yang insisted, although her voice wavered with what Weiss hoped wasn’t doubt.

“The footage and millions of viewers say otherwise.” Ironwood stated coolly, still pacing.

“Yang wouldn’t do that.” Weiss stated assuredly, fixing Ironwood with a stern glare that sadly did not have the desired effect.

“Yeah!” Ruby agreed, patting Yang on the back.

“Her records say otherwise.” Weiss’ heart plummeted, she’d hoped he didn’t know about that.

“And that happened years ago.” Yang pleaded, eyes wide in shock that the General would bring up her past like that. “I received my punishment for that and went to therapy.”

“Be that as it may Miss Xiao Long it sets a worrying precedent and one I cannot ignore.” Ironwood sighed deeply as Yang hung her head, defeated. “Several of your professors, including Ozpin have vouched for you and I believe you’re all good students and you would never lash out like that under normal circumstances.” Ironwood paused in his pacing to survey the distressed young women. “I know tournaments can get a little heated, stress and adrenaline can cloud your judgement and trash talk is a part of a lot of these events.” Weiss frowned, she did not like what Ironwood was implying. “But that’s no excuse.”

“But General I-.” Yang tried to speak but was silenced by a swift gesture.

“That’s enough Miss Xiao Long.” Once again he sighed deeply, as though this was a massive burden that was placed upon him. “Whether it was an argument that got out of hand or an assault.” Weiss bristled that he wasn’t even considering the idea Yang could be innocent of any form of wrongdoing. “It doesn’t matter, the world saw you attack an innocent student. They’ve drawn their own conclusions and so it’s my duty to inform you that Team RWBY has been disqualified.”

There was an awful finality to General Ironwood’s words, Yang’s head drooped in sad acceptance, Ruby looked like she wanted to protest and Blake just sat beside her silently. Saying no more, the General turned on his heel and left the room, shutting the door behind him leaving the four in morose silence.

“Well I guess we’re two for four on publicly disgraced team members.” Weiss said quietly, wings drooping.

“Weiss, don’t say stuff like that.” Ruby hissed, though she looked equally upset by the turn of events. Weiss just shrugged non-committally, it wasn’t like she was wrong. All they needed now was for Blake to be revealed as ex-White Fang and for there to be some scandal with Ruby like her uncle was her real father and they’d become the most untouchable team of huntresses in the world.

“You girls believe me, right?” Yang spoke up, not looking up.

“Of course we do sis!”

“I know you’d never do anything like that.” Weiss reassured her, then there was an uncomfortably loud silence.

“Blake?” Weiss had never heard Yang sound so hurt before. Blake just looked away, drawing her legs up onto the bed and wrapping her arms around them.

“I-I want to believe you.” She mumbled, not meeting anyone’s eyes.

“What?” Hurt flashed across Ruby’s face and Weiss was sorely tempted to lambaste Blake for her lack of faith in her girlfriend. She held her tongue though, if she did the dark-haired girl may be liable to flee again and although she was getting better at not avoiding conflicts, old habit died hard.

“Blake?” Tears pooled in Yang’s eyes and there was so much heartbreak in that single word.

“I-I told you what Adam did, how he changed over the years. First the accidents, then the self-defence and finally the justifications that they deserved it.” Blake looked nauseous as she spoke. Ruby looked a little lost, but Weiss felt sick to her stomach. Blake had only mentioned him once before, but the way she talked about him spoke volumes. Her former partner and the man who scared her enough to finally leave the Fang. The idea that Blake could think Yang was anything like that…

“I’m _nothing_ like him!” Yang choked out, sounding almost angry at the implication.

“I trusted him, believed in him.” Blake continued, unheeding. “I thought I loved him Yang, even though he was so angry all the time.” The picture the cat Faunus was painting wasn’t a pretty one. From the description it did seem like there were superficial similarities between Yang and this Adam. Not that Weiss believed it went any further than that, you could make just as many flimsy comparisons between her and Jacques Schnee but she was about as far from the man as you could get where it truly mattered.

“But I’m not, I’ve been working on my anger problems for years, you’ve been with me to sessions with Goodwitch. I would never lash out at anyone like that, not any more. Blake, if you really believe I’m capable of something like this, look me in the eye and tell me.” Blake’s eyes remained firmly fixed on the wall. Then, agonisingly slowly, the dark-haired girl looked around to meet her partner’s lilac gaze.

“I want to trust you Yang, I will trust you. You’re nothing like him and I know you would never do something like this. But please, tell me that Mercury attacked you first.” Yang took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes before meeting Blake’s gaze evenly.

“I saw him attack me, so I attacked back.” There was a momentary pause, then Blake let out a deep sigh and hung her head in relief.

“Okay, thank you.” She gave Yang a wan smile that the blonde was just about able to return.

“I think I’d to be alone for a little while if that’s okay?”

“Sure, whatever you need.” The other three stood and walked to the door, with one last look back at the still quite despondent Yang, Weiss shut the door behind them and slumped against the wall, closing her eyes.

“This is such a mess.” She groaned to murmurs of agreement from Blake and Ruby. “I don’t know how this can get any worse.”

“Weiss, you said that yesterday and then this happened, let’s not jinx things further.” Blake intoned drily as the door opposite cracked open.

“Hey, Yang doing okay?” Jaune asked giving Weiss a major sense of déjà vu, she could see the rest of Team JNPR peering out as well, Pyrrha included this time.

“About as well as you can expect.” Blake sighed and Jaune opened the door fully to allow them all to converse properly.

“I heard they delayed the next match to this evening.” Ruby said whilst shuffling over to Weiss and intertwining their fingers.

“Yeah, they wanted to leave some time for things to settle down. Of course things could get settled quicker if they could question Mercury about what happened, but he and his team flew back to Haven so that’s not happening any time soon.” Jaune frowned as he leaned up against the door frame.

“I’m afraid I don’t think it’ll make much difference. We’ve been disqualified completely from the tournament.” Weiss groused, squeezing her partner’s hand for comfort.

“Well, if there’s anything at all we can do, please don’t hesitate to ask.” Ren offered and Nora nodded vigorously in agreement.

“If you’re offering...” Ruby mumbled out. “Pyrrha?”

“Yes?” The red head looked up, startled, come to think of it she’d looked far more subdued than any of the others on her team during this whole conversation.

“Be sure to win the tournament for Beacon.” Pyrrha stiffened ever so slightly then tried to give Ruby a confident smile.

“I’ll do my best.” Weiss immediately wanted to retract Ruby’s request. Pyrrha may have told her she was fine with the pressures of competition but with everything that had happened, she wouldn’t be surprised if the athlete’s composure wasn’t beginning to crack.

“I’ll be sure to watch tonight in case you’re picked.” Ruby smiled cheerfully as Pyrrha returned to looking down at her lap.

“Sorry, but I’ve had enough fighting for one year.” Blake broke in, looking apologetically at the other team.

“Me too, sorry Pyrrha.” Pyrrha acknowledged Weiss with a small wave as the three departed. “Coffee? There’s a stall in the fairgrounds.”

“You know I don’t like that hot bean water, I’ll have some tea though.” Weiss just rolled her eyes.

“You and your hot leaf juice.” She ribbed back. “Ruby, you want to come?”

“For a little while, I’ll have a hot chocolate I think.” She chirped, snuggling closer into her partner’s side. “And I’m paying this time.”

“If you insist.” Weiss chuckled lightly. Maybe Blake was wrong about jinxing things, things could only get better from here.

* * *

 

“You think this’ll affect our chances of getting hired for jobs after Beacon?” Ruby had left about fifteen minutes ago to head up to the coliseum, leaving Weiss and Blake down at the fairgrounds where they kept half an eye on the broadcast whilst they talked.

“I don’t know, hopefully it’ll all have blown over after a few years.” Blake replied evenly, sipping at her cup of tea. “You think we’ll still hunt together as a team after we graduate?”

“I don’t see why not. Hunting is my only real option for a career now and I can’t see myself anywhere other than by Ruby’s side.” Weiss answered, fingers drumming on the counter as the randomisation process began for the next match. “Ruby won’t want to be separated from Yang and I hoped you and Yang were together for the long haul.” Blake merely hummed at Weiss’ last words.

“You shouldn’t put so much faith in other people’s relationships Weiss. We’re only eighteen, things could change very easily. Maybe you should focus on your own relationship and let us worry about ours.”

“I suppose.” Weiss huffed, feeling the weight of the little box she’d kept secret for the last few days in her pocket as Penny and Pyrrha were announced as the next match. “Actually, there is something I’ve been wanting to do with Ruby for a little while now.” The cat Faunus raised an eyebrow at Weiss’ enigmatic comment.

“Really? Do tell. Unless it’s too private.” Sighing, Weiss reached into her pocket and withdrew the box, clicking it open to reveal the rings and setting it on the counter as Blake’s eyes widened.

“I bought these the same day Yang got you that necklace.” She gestured to Blake’s throat where the jet stone shone, whilst the dark haired girl gaped. “I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to give it to her.”

“Weiss, are you serious?” Blake finally found her voice, though she had to raise it over the tinny sounds of battle from the holo screen.

“Of course I am.”

“I hate to say something like this but you’ve only been dating for a couple of months and you’re both still students. Is this really the sort of decision you want to be making now?” Weiss just sighed, she’d hoped Blake would’ve been more supportive, but it wasn’t entirely surprising.

“Blake, I love Ruby and she loves me. This is the natural progression of that.” She paused for a moment as Blake still looked sceptical, her eyes wandering back to watch Penny and Pyrrha duke it out. “We visited her mother’s grave when we went to Patch a few days ago, and it reminded me just how little time we could have together. We’ve all seen the statistics, hunters rarely live past thirty unless they retire early and Ruby would never do that. So I see no reason to wait. I want to live the rest of my life with her, however long that may be, and this is the confirmation of that.”

Blake looked back down at the rings. “You have good taste in jewellery, I’ll give you that.” She commented as Weiss reclaimed the box and tucked back inside her pocket. “Why did you tell me though?”

The ex-heiress cocked her head in confusion. “Because you’re my best friend of course. I’m led to believe this is the sort of thing best friends do.” Blake opened her mouth to reply, eyes slightly watery with emotion when someone nearby screamed. Jerking in shock, the pair looked at the source of the noise, it was a young woman who had her hands clamped over her mouth as she stared at the holo screen.

Quickly the monochrome pair returned their attention to the match and their jaws dropped in horror.

Pyrrha had fallen to her knees in the centre of the platform and strewn across the raised arena, twitching and sparking with electricity, were the remains of Penny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry! This was also really depressing to write so I might take another short break because there's only so much a girl can take and it only gets worse. Weiss really didn't learn her lesson about jinxing things did she? I'd like to the think the chapter speaks for itself and doesn't really require many notes.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	57. Chapter 57

There were screams and gasps of horror around them but they seemed oddly muted as Weiss stared wide-eyed at the screen.

Penny was a robot.

Suddenly a lot of things made sense. The odd speech patterns, her phenomenal combat prowess. Why Weiss hated her whenever she spoke.

Penny had just been dismembered on a live broadcast across all of Remnant, just like Yang’s attack on Mercury. This was not a coincidence, it couldn’t be.

“This is not a tragedy. This was not an accident.” A cold woman’s voice crackled out over the speakers. “This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children to men who claim to be our guardians. But in reality, they still are nothing more than men.” Weiss could feel her nails cutting into the palms of her hands. The voice was right, this wasn’t an accident but it wasn’t the people in charge who were to blame that’s for sure.

“Our academies’ headmasters wield more power than most armies, one was even audacious enough to control both.” Weiss glanced at Blake whose eyes were still glued to the screen in shock.

“They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet this happened. One kingdom’s attempt to create a synthetic army torn apart by another’s star pupil.” No, she was not going to place the blame for this on Pyrrha, up until then there’d been a grain of truth to the woman’s words. But all the best lies are based in truth.

“What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as a little girl? I don’t think Grimm can tell the difference. And what is Ozpin teaching his students? First a boy is brutally crippled and now this? Hunters should carry themselves with honour and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither today.” Weiss didn’t want to listen any more, she could hear shocked murmuring from around her, how could they believe the words of someone who had clearly hijacked the broadcast? Why would anyone do something like that unless they were involved? But she kept listening, she needed to hear the rest of their manifesto.

“Perhaps Ozpin felt as though defeating Atlas in the tournament would help people forget his colossal failure to protect Vale when Grimm invaded its streets. Or was this his message to the dictator who has occupied an unsuspecting Kingdom with his army. Honestly, I haven’t the slightest clue as to who is in the right and who is in the wrong.” This speaker certainly wasn’t the one in the right, that was for sure. Weiss could hear the barely restrained glee in her voice as she continued on.

“All I know is that the existence of peace is fragile, and our leader conduct their business with iron gloves.” She was certainly taking advantage of just how fragile this peace was. Peace was definitely not on this woman’s agenda.

“As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is equally undesirable. Our Kingdoms are on the brink of war yet us citizens are left unaware and in the dark.” Mistral, Mistral, she comes from Mistral. It could be a lie, but it was the only clue they had so far as to the identity of the mystery broadcaster. Weiss quickly pulled out her scroll and typed it in, she had a bad feeling she would have a lot more on her mind tonight.

“So, I ask you. When the first shots are fired, who do you think you can trust?” And the feed cut to static. There was stunned silence and Weiss took it upon herself to jerk Blake out of her shock.

“Blake, we need to get Yang and Ruby, we need to get to the bottom of this.” Blake shook herself and nodded, pulling out her scroll. She was about to call for Yang when she glanced up at the sky and her jaw went slack. “Weiss…” The white-haired girl followed her gaze and the sight chilled her to the bone.

An entire flock of giant Nevermore were flying towards the arena, accompanied by a horde of Griffons. Frantically, Weiss withdrew her own scroll and tried to call Ruby, but there was no response. She tried again, but there was nothing but a dial tone.

“I can’t get through to Ruby, she’s up there somewhere!” She panicked, looking to Blake. “Can you try?” Blake nodded and hit the call button, but there was still no answer.

“There’s nothing.” Weiss’ breath was coming fast and hard, she needed to get to Ruby.

“Come on.” She gestured for Blake to follow her out into the main area of the fairgrounds and were confronted with a mass of fleeing people and the growls of Grimm all around.

“How, how did this happen?” Blake stammered out, looking around in sheer terror.

“The broadcast, she must have generated enough negative emotion to draw in the Grimm.” Weiss theorised, panic and worry over her partner still coursing through her veins.

“I’m calling Yang.” Blake told her, jabbing the button and to their relief it was picked up immediately. “Yang! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, is Ruby with you? She’s not answering her scroll.” Yang’s slightly tinny voice sounded from the scroll alongside heavy breathing as though she was running.

“No, she isn’t and she’s not answering ours either.” Blake replied, glancing around in worry in case they were attacked.

“I’m heading to the docks, the White Fang are releasing Grimm into the school!” Yang told them and the monochrome pair froze in fear.

“The White Fang is here?!” Blake’s voice trembled slightly as sounds of growling came from through the scroll. “Yang!”

“I gotta go, be careful!” And the call ended, leaving the two Faunus alone in fear.

“I need to get up to the coliseum, I need to find Ruby.” Weiss broke the relative silence first, already tapping away at her scroll.

“But what about the White Fang, or the people here? Ruby’s tough, she can look after herself.” Blake asked, eyes darting around for danger.

“I don’t care how tough she is or about the others. I need to keep Ruby safe.” Weiss insisted as her locker landed with a loud thump and opening to reveal Myrtenaster and a satchel of Dust.

“Weiss! How do you expect to get up there? And you’re not thinking straight.” Blake insisted, tapping at her scroll as well.

“I’ll find a way.” Weiss growled, snatching up her sword and pulling on the satchel, ready to storm towards the besieged coliseum.

“Weiss, our job is to protect the people. You can’t just throw it all away over one girl. Weiss, what would Ruby do?”  Weiss froze mid-stride, what was she thinking? Blake was right, she was needed here and she needed to have more faith in Ruby. Sighing in shame, Weiss turned back to face Blake who was collecting Gambol Shroud from her just landed locker.

“Where to?”

“The docks, we can try to meet up with Yang along the way. We need to clear the area so the civilians can get to safety.” Nodding in agreement, Weiss followed Blake as the pair ran towards the main structure of Beacon. As they went, Weiss spared a glance up and prayed to the gods that Ruby was alright.

There was so much destruction as the pair ran through the grounds, Grimm corpses dissolving slowly, torn apart Atlesian knights, their compatriots still fighting valiantly against the horde. And the civilians who hadn’t made it to safety in time and gotten caught by the tide of darkness. Weiss tried not to look at the last ones as she and Blake carved their way through a small pack of Beowolves, making their way up onto the main entrance to Beacon. It seemed the White Fang had been repelled from the docks and the Atlesian knights had set up a perimeter to keep the Grimm back as civilians were evacuated. After pausing for a moment to catch their breath, Weiss and Blake jogged toward the knights hoping to lend assistance when the knights suddenly did an about face to look directly at them.

“Look out!” Blake grabbed Weiss and pulled her aside as a hail of gunfire just missed her. Her heart plummeted as she saw the dark crimson hue of the Atlesian knights’ faceplates as they advanced on the pair and encircling them, rifles raised. Quickly the pair scrambled to their feet, drawing their weapons.

“En passant!” Weiss instructed, raising her free hand in readiness as Blake nodded. With a pulse of aura, she summoned several glyphs to protect her as the knights opened fire and when they advanced Blake spun into action, cleaving them from the sides whilst they were focused on the bird Faunus.

“What’s happening?” Blake asked looking more worried than ever.

“I don’t know, have all the knights turned on us?” They looked around and to Weiss’ despair she saw that yes indeed all the Atlas tech had turned on the hunters.

“Weiss, there’s White Fang coming.” Blake pointed towards the main entrance where a large number of White Fang foot soldiers were spilling forth. Weiss heart froze, unbidden memories of blood and ice flooded back. No, she needed to focus, more knights were coming and they seemed uninterested in the Fang. Interesting, incredibly irritating, but it was something else for later, if they survived this mess.

“We’d better get to work then.” Weiss spun Myrtenaster’s barrel to Ice Dust and shot towards the knights whilst Blake headed at the White Fang. She easily sliced through the first few knights, bifurcating the machines and sending the rest into defensive formations. Such shoddy workmanship if she was able to cleave them apart so easily, she’d expected better from Atlesian tech. The knights began clustering together to fire upon her but she simply flicked her sword, manifesting several glyphs beneath them and freezing them to the spot. From there it was almost child’s play to dart between the immobilised groups and slice them to pieces.

Using the moment of respite, Weiss checked her Dust levels and cursed softly, she’d used up half her Ice Dust in that one attack. She needed to be more conservative with her resources, she didn’t have her Dust jacket any more.

Turning back to the fray, she saw a few White Fang grunts advancing on Blake’s unguarded rear. Thinking fast and with a pulse of aura a glyph manifested for Weiss to kick off of and charge into the small group, knocking them away and incapacitating them as Blake finished with the ones she’d been fighting and backed up to rejoin Weiss.

Assessing the battlefield, there were still several knights functioning and attacking the Atlesian soldiers, as well as a paladin. Weiss watched in horror as it advanced and easily swept aside several soldiers, evidently that was where most of the budget went. Weiss was about to direct Blake’s attention to the paladin when a loud noise from the other side caught their attention and they watched as a flaming airship sailed past, disgorging a truly massive Alpha Beowolf onto the grounds where upon it threw itself towards several fleeing civilians.

Blake looked to her, they were badly needed for both situations but Blake looked to be itching to chase the Beowolf.

“Be safe, please.” Blake nodded and darted after the Grimm whilst Weiss returned her attention to the paladin. Offering up a quick prayer that Blake would be okay, the white-haired girl ran towards the paladin. On the way she realised what a terrible idea this was, there was no way she could take it on alone. Then she heard a familiar voice shouting from the main courtyard and she broke out into a grin. She knew where she could get help.

With a twitch of Myrtenaster, several glyphs formed beside her and launched icy lances at the paladin that was bearing down on the injured soldiers. As she’d expected it did no damage, but it did draw its attention to her as she skated around the side so her back was towards the main courtyard. Another volley of ice was all it took for the paladin to decide she was a more important target and come barrelling after her as she turned tail and ran for her life towards the courtyard. The sounds of battle grew louder as she approached, the roars of Grimm and the clash of weapons.

Just as she reached the edge of the area and saw the arrayed students fighting there was a massive tremor which knocked Weiss and her pursuers of balance. Looking around wildly for the source, there was another loud rumble, then off in the distance, beyond Mountain Glenn its namesake exploded in a shower of rocks and boulders revealing an absurdly massive Grimm. Weiss had never seen something so big, Grimm that large had only ever been theorised. Weiss just stared slack-jawed and terrified of the giant creature as it flapped its massive wings and took off, flying right towards the school.

Wham!

Weiss had ben too distracted, a large metal fist slammed into her side and sent her crashing into the courtyard, drawing the attention of several of the fighters as the paladin pursued.

“Weiss!” A hand appeared above Weiss’ slightly fuzzy vision and she grabbed it so Sun could pull her to her feet.

“Sorry, I brought an uninvited guest.” She panted, gesturing towards the paladin being held back by Yatsu.

“Well we’ve got one of our own.” Sun jerked his thumb at another engaged with several other students. They both jerked around at a loud shout of pain and watched Nora sailing away as the paladin that had pursued Weiss approached, Neptune and Coco laying fire into it but not stopping it as the other joined its flank.

“This is bad, really bad.” Neptune shouted, still firing as though it might do some damage.

“Well, then I guess it’s a better time than any. Babe?” Coco called out for Velvet who as by her side in an instant.

“Really?” A wide grin split the rabbit Faunus’ face.

“Just make them count.” Coco smiled back, sending Velvet on her way with a quick kiss. Weiss just looked on in horror, how was Velvet going to take on  _two_ paladins on her own when it had taken all of Team RWBY to defeat a single prototype?

“What are you doing?! She’s going to get hurt!” Weiss shrieked, running to stand beside Coco.

“Just watch and have some faith in my girl.” Coco grinned confidently as Velvet approached the two paladins completely unarmed which seemed to confuse the robots for a moment before they raised their guns. Coming to a halt in front of the paladins, the rabbit Faunus tapped a button on the box at her back and held out a hand.

Weiss watched in amazement as a projection of Hardlight manifested in Velvet’s outstretched hand, forming a perfect copy of Crescent Rose. Now armed, the paladins made up their mind and opened fire only for Velvet to leap high into the air, the replica scythe trailing behind her in a very familiar move before she came crashing down, cleaving into the lead paladin, slicing into it a few times before hopping off to face it. As a fist came swinging down, it was blocked by a fresh replica that had Weiss gaping even more. A Hardlight version of Myrtenaster had deflected the blow and she followed up with two swift jabs before switching again, this time to Yang’s gauntlets which she used to knock the war machine back and land a few shots on it.

Weiss had never seen Hardlight Dust used like this before, it was used for shielding and never offensive purposes.

“Told ya!” Coco smirked, watching her partner tie up and trip one of the paladins before slicing off the other’s hand as it tried to sneak up on her. It was an odd dance to watch Velvet switch seamlessly between weapons and styles, a perfect mimic of other’s techniques. Weiss watched in awe as Velvet once again launched into the air, bringing a copy of Magnhild down to sever one of the arms before dismissing the construct. There was a lurch in her stomach as she recognised the next weapon Velvet switched to, Penny’s swords which she used to effortlessly remove the paladin’s legs and pummel it with Hardlight.

So enraptured was she by Velvet’s fighting, Weiss didn’t notice the other paladin until it was too late, and neither did Velvet. The fist seemed to come out of nowhere, crashing into Velvet’s side and sending her halfway across the courtyard.

“Velvet!” Coco screamed and opened fire upon the machine as it advanced on the downed girl. Others joined the firing line but it was ineffective. None of the other melee fighters were close enough or fast enough, except her.

Gritting her teeth, Weiss darted forward, around the edge so as not to get in the way of the others’ shots, summoning glyph after glyph to propel her forward. She had to stop it, but nothing she had could take it down. Except…

It was an amazingly stupid idea but it just might work. Speeding in front of Velvet, Weiss parried the first swing much like Velvet had earlier and dove forward driving Myrtenaster hard into the paladin’s centre where it lodged itself. Then Weiss forced her aura out down through Myrtenaster’s conductive metals into all the Dust chambers at once.

Weiss didn’t hear the explosion, so much as felt it. Fire, Ice and Earth collided in a mass of steam and rocks that were drawn in by Gravity and electrified with Lightning before a massive burst of Wind threw her backwards to land heavily behind Velvet.

Crawling upright Weiss took a brief moment to admire her handiwork, the centre of the paladin had been blown to pieces, charred and twisted shards of metal intertwined with spikes of ice and earth.

“Weiss, your hand.” Velvet’s voice broke into Weiss’ reverie and she looked down. Sure enough. her hand was burned and red and just now was Weiss noticing the pain as her aura set about repairing the damage. What was worse though was the remains of Myrtenaster that were still clutched in an iron grip. The blade had gone completely, all that was left was the handle and part of the rotary mechanism. Before Weiss could mourn the loss of her trusty sword, a loud thumping sounded from across the courtyard, the two Faunus turned to look and saw another Atlesian paladin charge into view and halt, raising its guns.

“You have  _got_  to be kidding me!” Sun cried out in exasperation, raising his staff as the other students all prepared themselves for yet another fight. Weiss raised her good hand, she may not have Myrtenaster anymore, but she still had her semblance and a bag full of Dust. Velvet stood as well, clicking the button on her projection box.

“I must still have something in here.” She muttered, distraught as the paladin began its charge towards the assembled students including Coco. However mid-charge electricity began to arc out of the machine and it crashed to the ground, skidding across the paths until it came to a grinding halt right in front of the beret wearing girl.

“Huh, that went better than expected.” Sun quipped, walking over to prod at the downed mech. Coco meanwhile ran over to Weiss and Velvet almost crashing into her partner.

“Velvet! Are you okay?” She babbled in worry, checking over the rabbit Faunus.

“Coco, I’m fine really, thanks to Weiss.” She beamed at the ex-heiress who gave a thumbs up. Now that they had a brief moment of respite the exhaustion was beginning to set it.

“Weiss! Weiss!” The girl in question looked up to see Yang dashing out across the courtyard to the loose group who were still on guard for more Grimm. “You’re okay!” Then she noticed Weiss’ hand and broken sword. “Mostly, have you heard from Ruby.” She shook her head. “What about Blake, I thought she was with you?”

“She went after an Alpha Beowulf and some White Fang, they were headed towards the dining hall.” She wheezed out, grimacing as her red raw skin flaked off to reveal fresh unblemished dermis beneath.

“You look for Ruby, I’ll meet up with Blake.” Yang told her and ran off towards the dining hall, leaving Weiss alone with the other students.

“Have any of you seen Ruby?” She asked of the group as they all convened around her, Velvet and Coco.

“She was on the airship down from the coliseum with us.” Sun supplied helpfully. “But then General Ironwood’s ship exploded whilst he was trying to get to another ship and Ruby jumped back out onto the coliseum, I don’t what happened to her after that.”

“So she could still be up there.” Weiss surmised, looking up at the floating arena that was still mercifully afloat as the giant Grimm continued its approach.

“Students!” A loud voice called out from the side closest to the main avenue and they all turned to see Professor Oobleck stood there, looking rather worse for wear but relatively unhurt. “We’re evacuating the academy, that Wyvern’s headed right for us and it’s spawning more Grimm.”

“Aren’t we going to fight it?” Asked Neptune earning him several incredulous looks.

“Young man that would be both foolhardy and suicidal, we must retreat and regroup. There is a safe zone established in Vale, follow me to the evacuation point.” And with that, Oobleck began jogging away, followed by the battered students. Out through the main avenue where several more Atlesian paladins and knights lay deactivated alongside slowly dissolving Grimm corpses and worse, people’s bodies. Professor Port was stood on the docks, directing civilians onto a motley collection of airships, likely whatever they could scrounge up on such short notice.

“Right, hurry on board.” Oobleck instructed, pointing to the nearest airship.

“Sir, with all due respect, there are still civilians waiting to be evacuated.” Weiss gestured at the small crowd. “I’m not leaving until all of them have been evacuated.” Several of the other students nodded in agreement.

“Very well, try to rest, we’ve managed to clear the area of Grimm for now, but stay on your guard.” The Professor instructed, before moving away to join Port. Taking the opportunity, Ren and Nora slumped to the ground, looking utterly exhausted and beaten. The others arrayed themselves around, a few sitting down whilst some were still alert, hands on their weapons. Weiss stayed standing, looking around for any sign of Ruby or the rest of her team.

The next few minutes were absolute torture as Weiss started pacing anxiously, the broken hilt of Myrtenaster strapped to her hip.Until there was a shout for help from the academy and Weiss whirled to see Blake and Yang, the former supporting the latter heavily and clutching at her side. Without waiting for instructions, Weiss ran to them to help only to freeze mid stride when she approached.

Yang’s arm was missing.

Weiss wanted to vomit, it was ironic really, for someone who spent so long removing her own limbs to be so sickened by someone else’s. Blake was bleeding too, dripping out between her fingers. Shaking herself, Weiss moved in to help support Yang, ignoring the blood that dripped onto her clothes.

“What happened?” Blake just shook her head, eyes dull with pain and sorrow. “I need some bandages over here!” Weiss called out as they got closer to the platform and a soldier came hurrying forward with the medical supplies as they laid Yang down on the landing pad, Blake collapsing beside her.

“Blake, what happened?” Weiss tried again, but once more Blake just shook her head and just allowed herself to be bandaged up before lying down beside her partner, tears pooling in her eyes as she murmured apologies to her unconscious girlfriend.

This day could not get any worse, Weiss’ sword broken, Blake injured, Yang mutilated and Ruby missing.

Dear gods, what was Weiss going to tell Ruby? How could she tell her that her sister lost an arm when she didn’t even know what happened? As Weiss fretted, more and more people were evacuated, Coco and Velvet were among the first of the students to leave, but still Weiss waited, she had to believe Ruby would come.

“Weiss!” A sweet, high-pitched voice called out from behind her as she stood watching over her teammates. Weiss spun around to see Ruby, a little battered but still smiling as she ran up to her partner.

“Ruby! Where have you been.” Weiss almost shouted, running over to grasp her hands, she had to be sure she was really here. Tears of joy pricked at Weiss’ eyes that Ruby was okay, she was still here.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. What’s going on?” Weiss’ heart sank and she turned away from Ruby’s curious gaze.

“Weiss, what is it?” There were no words, Weiss just stepped aside to allow Ruby to see her teammates lying broken on the floor.

“Yang…?” Weiss could hear the tears forming in Ruby’s eyes and she hated herself for being the one to bear this bad news. Before Weiss could give any comfort to her love, Sun came jogging over.

“Hey, Yang’s gonna be okay. The soldiers have a ship to take the last of us down to Vale.” He told them, pointing over at the ship waiting.

“But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing!” Nora called out, trying to stand but collapsing back to the ground in pain as Weiss’ heart plummeted yet again.

“What?” Ruby squeaked, eyes blown wide in worry.

“Look, there’s a giant massive Grimm circling the school, even the White Fang are getting out of here. We need to leave now.” Sun pointed out and part of Weiss agreed with his assessment.

“We’re not leaving.” Ren grunted, trying to crawl to his feet as well but failing as well.

“We’ll find them.” Weiss turned to face her partner, she should have expected something like this. “We’ll find them and bring them back. You’re with me, right Weiss?” She looked expectantly at the white-haired Faunus.

“Ruby, I don’t have a weapon, Myrtenaster broke. I’m sorry.” She showed Ruby the broken hilt of her sword and a fresh wave of sadness rolled over her. The brunette paused to think for a moment.

“You can use this right?” Ruby reached behind to her weapon belt and Weiss breath caught as she pulled out a painfully familiar blade.

“Is that…?”

“Penny’s, I took it with me when we left the coliseum. I didn’t want to lose another part of her.” Ruby mumbled as she handed the sword to Weiss.

“We’re not losing anyone else, I promise.” She reassured her partner as she gave the sword a few test swings. It was weightier than Myrtenaster and had a centre of mass somewhere in the blade itself rather than the hilt. But it would do in a pinch.

She turned back to Sun and the others. “Please, look after Blake and Yang. We’ll be back”

“You’d better be.” Sun warned as the partners took off back towards Beacon. Grimm were swarming throughout the ruins now, spawned from the Wyvern that was still circling the tower. It took Weiss more effort than usual to hack through the hordes, unused to a blade built for slashing rather than thrusting. But she was able to provide enough support for Ruby as she led the way further into the infested academy.

As they were about to enter the main courtyard, Weiss’ scroll began to buzz. Pulling it out in confusion, she was shocked to see Jaune calling, she didn’t remember giving him her number. Regardless she answered the call only to be shocked by the volume of Jaune’s frantic cries.

“Weiss! Please, you have to stop her!”

“What!?” She asked in confusion, as Ruby hovered nearby, picking off any Grimm that came too close with sniper fire.

“Pyrrha! She’s going after the woman at the top of the tower, she doesn’t stand a chance!” It was as though the blood in Weiss’ veins froze all over again as she and Ruby looked up to the top of the tower.

“Jaune, what do you mean?! Where are you?” Weiss called, panic flaring through her.

“Don’t worry about me.” His voice dropped and there was a sad dejection to his final words. “Please, just save Pyrrha.” And the line went dead.

“Jaune? Jaune!” Weiss shouted fruitlessly at her scroll.

“Weiss, we’ve got trouble.” Ruby warned, pulling her attention back as they watched the giant Grimm perch upon one of the struts jutting out from the tower. Weiss watched in horrified fascination as drops of pure darkness oozed from the unnatural thing, landing on the ground and spawning more Grimm which crawled out of the liquid fully formed and angry.

“I have a plan.” Ruby informed her, switching Crescent Rose back to its scythe form in preparation.

“You always do.” Weiss smiled faintly and joined her leader as they charged forth into the fray. She lost count of how many Grimm she sliced through, how many glyphs she conjured to guard Ruby’s flanks and they kept coming and they were still no closer to the tower.

“Look out!” Ruby screeched and in a whirl of rose petals, Weiss found herself on the other side of the courtyard as a large crash sounded from above as the Wyvern smashed through the top of the CCT send debris raining down where they’d been stood.

“Pyrrha!” Weiss called uselessly up at the tower.

“We need to hurry!” Ruby swung Crescent Rose in a deadly arc, slicing through several Grimm that had charged after them. Thinking fast, a memory occurred to Weiss so she promptly stuffed her hand into the satchel and withdrew a Gravity Dust crystal.

“Just like the cliff.” She muttered, focusing on her aura and manifesting several glyphs up the side of the tower. “Ruby, go. I’ll be fine.” With a nod, the brunette took off and with a burst of petals, vanished briefly and was soon speeding her way up the side of the tower. She watched as Ruby disappeared over the edge of the tower and had to look away as more Grimm came running towards her.

Tension wound its way through Weiss as she spun and slashed, slicing through Grimm after Grimm, constantly worrying about her love at the top of the tower. She spared a glance and saw the Wyvern land atop the tower then:

White

Pure white light exploded from the top of the tower, cascading down and annihilating the Grimm that surrounded her. Leaving Weiss alone in the middle of the courtyard.

“Ruby! Ruby!” The scream came unbidden. She needed to get up there. If only she’d been strong like Ruby, she needed to be better. Once again, Weiss didn’t notice the glyph spinning wildly behind her until she felt herself suddenly lifted into the air. She stumbled for a moment until she saw she was stood atop a giant blade which pulled back and launched her into the air towards the top of the tower where the Wyvern crouched.

Weiss was fully ready to die fighting the monstrosity as she landed in the ruins of Ozpin’s office. But the beast remained still as Weiss darted across the demolished platform.

“Ruby? Ruby!” she called out frantically, scouring the wreckage.

There, collapsed on the floor at the side.

“No, no no no!” Tears prickled in her eyes as she ran over to her partner’s body. She couldn’t be dead. Not Ruby, not her love. She skidded to a halt beside the body and picked her up and sobbed in relief, she was still breathing.

But where was Pyrrha? Looking around wildly, her eyes eventually settled upon a familiar headdress, lying charred in the centre of the destroyed room.

“Pyrrha.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One last time, I'm sorry! I know I said I'd probably be taking a break, but this demanded to be written and finished. I believe this is the longest chapter to date and yet I somehow got it done in less time than most others. I considered splitting it up more, but there didn't feel like there was any appropriate places to do so. And thus Beacon has fallen and vol. 3 comes to an end, why you ask. Because there's more to go before Winter arrives and Ruby heads out to Haven. It's time to officially earn a canon divergence tag. On the plus side, Coco and Velvet got back together after being on the outs the last several chapters so that's good right?
> 
> As always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	58. Chapter 58

It was a nightmare, it had to be a nightmare.

She was going to wake up in bed with Ruby and everything would be alright. She wouldn’t have been disowned, Yang wouldn’t have been publicly humiliated and dismembered. Pyrrha would still be…

But she wasn’t waking up, it was real. All of it was awfully real.

Carefully laying Ruby back down, Weiss staggered to her feet and over to the tarnished metal headdress, unheeding of the frozen Wyvern looming overhead.

She collapsed to her knees and reached out to pick up the circlet with a trembling hand, but was forced to snatch it away in pain as the metal burned her.

Everything was blurry and numb, when had she started crying? Weiss swiped angrily at the tears but they just kept coming.

Looking around, a fresh wave of sadness hit as she saw Akoúo embedded in one of the ruined walls. Tearing off one of her sleeves, Weiss reverently wrapped the circlet in the cloth and stashed it in her satchel before standing up again and walking over to collect the shield.

She was not going to let the last pieces of Pyrrha stay here under the shadow of a colossal Grimm. With a wrench, she pulled the shield from the wall and stowed it as well, turning back to Ruby who still laid unconscious on the floor.

How was she going get them both down? The lift was destroyed and she was running low on aura. Resigned to wait for rescue, a thought occurred to Weiss as she returned to Ruby’s side. The Wyvern was still frozen above her and it wasn’t dissolving like other Grimm did. Was it still alive? The thought chilled Weiss to the bone as she looked up at the creature. If she was stuck up here then maybe she could do some good and get some measure of vengeance. It would be a start.

Snatching up Penny’s sword she weighed up her options. Should she try for a killing blow? Or did she want to draw it out? She didn’t know whether Grimm felt pain, it would be interesting to find out. Slowly, she approached one of the massive wings that held the monster up and sized it up. Just as she raised the sword high, ready to slice deep into the beast a hand caught her wrist

“Easy there mini ice queen.” Weiss whirled in shock to see Ruby’s uncle stood there holding her back. “I don’t know exactly what’s happened to that thing but I don’t wanna risk it waking up if you go stabbing it. ‘Specially since we haven’t got the kiddo to freeze it again.” He jerked his head over at his niece.

“So what do we do?” Weiss gritted out, though she relaxed a little.

“Let’s get the two of you off this tower and down to Vale. Is there anyone else around?” Weiss glanced back at the spot where she’d found the headdress and her hand strayed to her satchel.

“No.” Grunting in acknowledgement, Qrow released her and walked over to pick up Ruby in his arms.

“How exactly are we getting down?” Weiss asked, following him over to the edge.

“I’ve got a lift.” The man smirked and sure enough an airship rose into view, an incredibly nervous Atlesian soldier at the controls. “Let’s get out of here.” And with that he hopped onto the ship and Weiss followed, keeping a careful eye on her girlfriend.

“What happened to her? Why won’t she wake up?” Weiss asked as the airship began its descent down into Vale.

“I don’t know, doing that probably took a lot out of her, but I reckon she’ll be okay. She’s a tough kid.” Weiss nodded in agreement, Ruby was far stronger than she gave her credit for. She hesitated for a moment, before she asked the burning question.

“What did she do?”

“You saw what she did, froze that Wyvern and destroyed every lesser Grimm within half a mile.” Qrow responded drolly, pulling out a hip flask and taking a swig which Weiss wrinkled her nose at.

“Fine, how did she do it?”

“Kid, I’ll tell ya everything you want to know later. Right now I reckon you’re gonna have enough on your plate trying to explain to blondie boy what happened to his partner.” He gestured with his flask at the shield still strapped to Weiss’ back and she slumped in despair.

Oh gods, what was she going to tell Jaune? And Ren and Nora? She’d promised she’d bring Pyrrha back and she’d failed. Fresh tears prickled at her eyes as she gazed at the floor.

“I-I don’t even know what happened. Jaune and P-Pyrrha were missing, so Ruby and I went to find them. Then Jaune called and said something about Pyrrha fighting a woman at the top of the tower.” Weiss looked up as Qrow grunted and motioned for her to continue.

“So we got to the base of the tower and then the Wyvern destroyed the entire top floor. Then I got Ruby to run up to the top and then there was the bright light and all the Grimm were gone.” Weiss hung her head again, morose at her failure to be by Ruby’s side.

“When I got to the top, only Ruby was there and all I found of Pyrrha was...” Her voice trembled and broke, she couldn’t bear to think of what had happened. Qrow didn’t push any further, he just hummed in thought and took another swig from his flask.

“This ain’t exactly been the best few days for you has it? For any of us for that matter.” Weiss could only nodded dumbly in agreement as the airship touched down in Vale. “C’mon mini ice queen.” Once again Qrow scooped up his niece in his arms and led Weiss out of the airship onto the street. There were people just milling around, shell shocked by what had happened as Atlesian soldiers marched around, keeping guard in case of another attack. The three entered a mall which looked to have been repurposed for the current emergency and Qrow headed over to an area sectioned off that looked to be the impromptu medical bay.

There were so many people, there weren’t enough bedrolls for them all. Weiss tried to look directly ahead, but felt her eyes constantly drawn down to the people lying there and their horrific injuries. Even worse were the people Weiss recognised, Fox cradling a broken arm, Nebula with a long gash up her leg. Even Professor Goodwitch was there, crouched weeping over a dark-haired woman whose breathing was laboured and pained.

“Weiss?” A familiar voice called out, one she’d hoped she wouldn’t be hearing. Slowly, she turned to see Jaune, looking rather battered, standing next to Ren and Nora who were laid out on a bench.

“I’ll go see if I can find Yang and get Ruby some help.” Qrow muttered and walked swiftly away, leaving Weiss alone to deal with the remainder of Team JNPR. Hesitantly, reluctantly, she approached them, reaching into her satchel to retrieve the cloth-wrapped parcel, tears already beginning to prick at her eyes again.

“Weiss, where’s Pyrrha?”

“I’m s-sorry, I’m so so sorry.” She choked out, holding out the circlet for Jaune.

“No. No no no no no.” Nora murmured as Jaune took it and unwrapped the sleeve to reveal the tarnished and charred headdress.

“I-I don’t know what happened, I just found them.” The tears ran freely down Weiss’ face as she drew the shield and passed it to Jaune as well. “I’m sorry.”

There was a soft keening noise and it took a moment for Weiss to pinpoint its source. Nora had pulled her legs up onto the bench with her and was rocking back and forth. Ren was a silent as ever and Jaune just stood there dumbly, staring at the circlet. She had to say something, anything to comfort them.

“I’m sure she died fighting.” Weiss ventured, hoping it would reassure them, bring some measure of peace.

“She shouldn’t have died at all.” Came Nora’s muffled voice, her head raising to look at Weiss, tears streaming down her face. “She was supposed to be the hero and now she’s gone.” With a sudden burst of movement, Nora launched herself at Weiss and clutched at her the front of her shirt.

“Y-You said you’d bring her back! You promised! You promised you’d bring her ba-a-ack!” She half screamed, half sobbed, burying her face in Weiss’ chest until Ren stood up and gently pried her away.

“I think you should go.” He said, gently guiding his weeping partner back down to the bench.

“I-.”

“Please Weiss.” He implored, cutting her off. Weiss looked to Jaune, but there was still no reaction. So Weiss turned and left the grieving team, following in the direction Qrow left in, trying to tune out the sounds of Nora’s broken cries and feeling worse than ever.

Weiss walked past bedroll after bedroll, looking for Qrow’s lanky figure until at last she saw him stood in a corner talking to what looked to be a doctor with Sun of all people hovering nervously nearby. As she approached she saw Yang’s distinctive blonde mane spread out on a bedroll next to the still unconscious Ruby.

“How is she?” She asked Qrow when she got close enough, he and the doctor turning to face her.

“Miss Rose is stable, but she seems to have fallen into a comatose state. I have no real idea of when she’ll wake up.” The doctor informed her, glancing down at the brunette. She looked so young and vulnerable laid out on the blanket. “Sorry, I’m afraid I have other patients I need to attend to.”

“Yeah, thanks doc.” Qrow waved the doctor’s apology off as she strode off back amongst the rest of the injured. “This is a real mess and it’s just gotten even worse, monkey boy wants to speak to ya. I need to catch up with the other professors and Ironwood. I’ll be back soon.” He jerked his head back at the awkwardly shuffling Sun before stalking off, hands stuffed in his pockets.

“Hey Weiss...” Sun began, grinning sheepishly as Weiss walked over and was now able to get a good look at Yang and…

“Where’s Blake?”

“She’s... gone.”

“What?!”

“She ran away, one moment she was here, the next she wasn’t.” Sun looked away, guilt spelled across his face. “I’m sorry Weiss.”Just when Weiss thought she had no more tears to shed, yet more spilled forth. Blake couldn’t have just left them, left Yang. She couldn’t do this alone, she couldn’t.

“Sun, how are Neptune and the others?”

“They’re fine, they’re getting ready to head back to Haven soon.”

“Can you do something for me?” Weiss sniffed, swiping at her face and trying to regain some composure.

“What do you need?”

“Find her. Please.” The monkey Faunus was taken aback by the rawness of Weiss’ voice as she pleaded with him.

“I-I don’t know.”

“Please, Yang needs her, _I_ need her. I’d go myself but...” She looked back down at Ruby. “I can’t leave Ruby, not like this.” It went unsaid but the words hung heavy between them, ‘not like Blake left Yang’.

After a moment, Sun nodded. “I’ll do it.”

Weiss sagged in relief, wings that had been held tense and stiff for hours finally relaxed a little. “Thank you, thank you so much Sun.”

The blonde boy just shrugged a little. “Don’t worry, I’ll find her and I’ll get a message to you somehow.” He grimaced a bit at the thought. “Don’t know how though, the CCT’s down so communications are kinda patchy.” And with a surreptitious look at his teammates, he nonchalantly made for the entrance.

“Thank you!” Weiss called after him which he acknowledged with a wave of his tail and then he was gone, lost amongst the crush of people. Letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, Weiss turned back to her partner and settled down beside her, gently smoothing out her errant locks.

“You doing okay mini ice queen?” Qrow’s gravelly voice sounded from above her, though Weiss didn’t look up, instead keeping her eyes fixed upon her girlfriend’s sleeping face.

“No, no I’m not. But I have to be.” She was the only one left standing, she had to be strong for all of them.

“As soon as there’s a free airship, we’re taking these two back to Patch. I’m guessing you’re coming with.” Weiss nodded, still running her fingers through Ruby’s hair.

“There’s nowhere else for me to go, the only home I have left is with Ruby.” Qrow grunted in agreement.

“I’ll come get you when we’re ready to get going.” Weiss didn’t answer and she heard him walking away. Carefully, Weiss lowered herself to lie down beside Ruby, laying a gentle wing over her and pulling in as close as she dared.

“I’m sorry Ruby. I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough.” She whispered apology after apology, tears drawing tracks over her cheeks until she finally couldn’t cry any more and exhaustion finally overtook her and she fell into an uneasy sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter interim chapter after the events of the last one whilst I solidify the plot for next few and I daresay this one was even worse than the last as the universe, a.k.a. me, is not pulling its punches and may or may not have broken into tears writing the bit with JNPR. Don't worry, things can only go up from here, and this isn't just a Weiss jinx, the hurt is over, now it's time for the recovery.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	59. Chapter 59

“Hey, wake up mini ice queen. I’ve got us a ride.” An annoyingly familiar voice pulled Weiss out of her uneasy sleep, filled with ash and screams.

“You have got to stop calling me that.” She grumbled, cracking open her eyes to look up at the lanky man looming over her.

“What? You prefer snow angel?” He shot back glibly, offering a hand which Weiss took ungraciously, giving him a withering look.

“You could just call me Weiss.” She shot back, flapping her wings in irritation and making sure they were still working.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Qrow smirked and Weiss just rolled her eyes.

“Whatever, did you get us a medical transport?”

“Well, not exactly...” Qrow rubbed at the back of his head in a gesture she’d seen Yang perform fairly regularly. “It’s a commercial airship so at least it’s got seats.” Weiss just groaned, sagging a little. Admittedly, compared to everything else that had gone wrong over the last twenty four hours, this was a relatively minor annoyance.

“Did you at least get us some help carrying these two?” Weiss gestured down at the sisters.

“Nah, We’ve got it, besides they’re stretched pretty thin here, it’s a wonder I was able to get us an airship at all.” Qrow replied, crouching down to heft Yang into his arms, taking care not to jostle her injury. Resigned to her fate, though not an entirely unpleasant one, Weiss to ducked down to scoop her partner up into a princess carry, Ruby’s head lolling onto Weiss’ shoulder.

Then the odd pair and their cargo made their way back towards the entrance. There were fewer familiar faces this time around, though there were no fewer people. As they wound their way through the injured, Weiss noticed Jaune, Ren and Nora off in a corner. She knew they’d seen her, but they didn’t call out and neither did she.

The airship was sat idling out in the street a few metres away from the entrance and with Qrow’s help, Weiss was able to clamber on board and get Ruby strapped in properly next to Yang. After a short exchange with the pilot, the airship slowly rose off the ground and soared off towards the sea.

The pair sat in silence as they flew over the channel separating Vale and Patch, Weiss gazing out of the window to pass the time and getting lost in thought, occasionally startled by Qrow shifting around. About twenty minutes into the flight, she finally broke the silence.

“Later, once Ruby and Yang have been settled, I have a lot of questions you need to answer. So don’t you go running off like you did last night whenever there was a difficult conversation.” Weiss pointed and accusing finger at the older man who just smirked infuriatingly.

“You can certainly ask the questions, but I can’t always guarantee you answers.” Weiss nodded in agreement and settled back into her seat as she watched the waves roll by before another thought occurred to her.

“And no skipping out on me when we meet Taiyang either.” Qrow groaned in exasperation, rolling his eyes.

“Oh come on, you’re worse than Summer, she loved these big emotional conversations.” The ex-heiress just fixed him with a sharp glare.

“I have had to tell my girlfriend her sister lost her arm and tell my friends that their teammate died. Not to mention the fact that I’m going to have to be the one to tell Yang that her girlfriend ran off to gods know where on top of everything else that’s happened to her. So excuse me if I don’t want a little bit of support when I tell a man who has been nothing but kind to me that his daughters have been badly injured.” She hissed in cold fury, actually making Qrow recoil slightly in his seat. “Are we clear?”

The man nodded reluctantly and Weiss settled back into her seat as Qrow relaxed a little, still glancing her out of the corner of his eyes.

“You know, for a girl who cried herself to sleep last night, you sure seem to be handling yourself today.”

“I have to. Besides, even if I was disinherited, I’m still a Schnee and we don’t dwell on the past, we look to the future and keep moving forwards.” Weiss sighed a little, looking at their unconscious passengers. “I don’t have the luxury to grieve any more.” Qrow just grunted and Weiss didn’t feel like pursuing a more complete answer.

The rest of the journey was passed in silence, Weiss mulling over just what she was going to say to Taiyang, until they finally touched down in Patch.

“C’mon, I’ve got a car we can use to get to Tai’s place.” Qrow unbuckled his niece and gently lifted her into his arms, Weiss following suit with Ruby and stepping out onto the familiar landing pad.

Everything looked so peaceful and calm, a far cry from the current state of Vale. Looking back over the water, as the airship rose back into the air and soared back towards the stricken city, Weiss could just about make out the plumes of smoke rising from the ruins and the silhouette of the Wyvern atop Beacon.

They drew a few stares from the people they passed as they headed to the nearby car park where a man sat with his feet propped up in a booth, reading a newspaper only putting it down when the pair approached.

“Hey Qrow, what’s happening…?” He trailed off as he saw Yang cradled in the lanky man’s arms and Ruby in Weiss’ not too far behind.

“It’s not good out there Rowan, the CCT’s gone down. Can you bring my car around? I’ve got my hands full.” The man nodded and hurried off, returning shortly after in a small car that thankfully had a back seat.

“Here you go.” He climbed out and opened the back so they could strap the sisters in. “Are they going to be okay?”

“They should be.” Qrow climbed in the driver’s seat leaving Weiss to climb in beside him, wrinkling her nose at the smell of stale alcohol that lingered inside. “Thanks Rowan.” The man tipped his cap as they drove off.

“Do you really need to have a car on an island as small as Patch?, Especially as you don’t live here.” Weiss wondered out loud whilst they drove out of the small town around the landing dock and into the forests.

“Not really, but I wouldn’t complain if I were you. Otherwise we’d need Tai to come pick us up and I don’t think he’d want to find out about his daughters right by the landing pad.” Qrow fired back, seemingly unheeding of the speed limit as they sped through the greenery. “Besides, I did used to live here, this things just nice to have for when I visit.”

“You used to live here?” The white-haired girl asked incredulously.

“Used to teach at Signal with Tai. Don’t really like sticking ‘round a place for too long though so when the opportunity came up I left.” He shrugged. “Not much to it really.”

Weiss found it rather difficult to believe that this man, who always smelled faintly of drink and seemed incredibly lax about everything had once been a teacher. Then again given the quality of some of the teachers at Beacon, Professor Port sprang to mind, she shouldn’t be all the surprised.

Soon they were approaching the log house out in the woods and to her surprise, Taiyang was already waiting on the porch, Zwei panting at his feet.

“Did you tell him we were coming?” Weiss hissed at the driver as he shut off the engine and climbed out.

“Nope.” Dear gods, this man was definitely Ruby and Yang’s uncle, they all popped their ‘p’s in the same infuriating way. Reluctantly, Weiss followed Qrow out of the car to face Taiyang who had already started towards them.

“Qrow, what’s going on? There’s no communications, nothing.” He held up his scroll that was just playing static.

“Turn it off, the CCT’s down.” Qrow informed him gravely.

“What, communication down across the entire kingdom? But then there’s no way to contact outside of Sanus.” Tai looked very worried by this, clicking off the scroll and tucking it away.

“Yeah, what’s worse is Ozpin’s missing.” Tai’s eyes widened in shock, he looked questioningly at Qrow who just nodded sadly.

“This is bad, Qrow.”

“Yeah, and I’m afraid it’s about get worse for ya.” The dark-haired man gestured behind him to Weiss and the passengers in the back seat.

“Weiss? What are you doi-.” The words died in his mouth as Weiss pulled open the back door of the car and gently lifted Ruby out, giving Tai a clear view of Yang’s bloodied and bandaged stump. “Oh.”

“I-I’m sorry. I wasn’t good enough.” Weiss stammered out, eyes flitting around nervously. That was until she was wrapped in a firm hug that was careful not to jostle Ruby.

“Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault.” Taiyang told her in a tone that brokered no argument. “You did the best you could and you still brought my girls back to me alive.” Weiss nodded, tears sparkling in her eyes.

“Right, now that’s outta the way, let’s get these two situated.” Qrow interrupted, drawing an exasperated look from Tai.

“Are you ever going to grow up Qrow? You can’t avoid your emotions forever you know.”

“Just watch me.” The lanky man snarked back, already starting towards the house, leaving Tai and Weiss to carry the sisters.

“I’ll get Yang set up in the guest room if you can get Ruby into her room. Hopefully Yang will wake up soon, do you know about Ruby?” Weiss shook her head.

“The doctor said she’s in a comatose state, she didn’t know when Ruby’ll wake up.”

“Would you mind getting her changed into something more comfortable to sleep in then? Yang’s not in a coma too is she?” Weiss shook her head. “Then we’ll leave her as is for now.” And with that Taiyang led the way into the house, passing the now sombre Zwei who followed them into the living room where he split off to climb up onto Qrow’s lap.

A few minutes later, Weiss was alone with Ruby in the latter’s bedroom, trying to find the younger girl’s pyjamas. It just then hit her that all of her worldly possessions were still at Beacon. All she had were the clothes on her back, the satchel of Dust, her now useless scroll, her wallet and the rings. Oh she’d forgotten Penny’s sword and the remains of Myrtenaster.

Pausing in her search for Ruby’s night clothes, she unclipped the hilt of Myrtenaster from her belt and examined it closely, in the hope she could maybe reforge it. It looked unlikely though, too much of the blade was gone and any attempt to attach a fresh one would undoubtedly result in a weaker blade. Not to mention the metal she was forged from was pretty much unique.

Sighing deeply, Weiss placed the broken weapon on top of the dresser and drew Penny’s sword instead. It wasn’t too bad, she supposed in the absence of another weapon it would do and it did feel rather good to carry a piece of Penny with her.

Placing the new weapon beside the old, she returned to the search and eventually found an innocuous grey pair. What followed was possibly the most embarrassing five minutes of Weiss’ life as she manoeuvred her sleeping girlfriend out of her hunting clothes and into the pyjamas. This was not helped by Weiss insisting on maintaining Ruby’s dignity and virtue by refusing to look, not that she wasn’t sorely tempted, a less than fully dressed Ruby having starred in more than a few of Weiss’ more pleasant dreams.

Still, she never expected the first time she’d be stripping her girlfriend would be when the latter was in a coma. Finally Ruby was changed and tucked under the covers of her bed, Weiss spending perhaps more time than was necessary smoothing out her hair.

“I’ll be back soon.” She whispered into her beloved’s ear and, kissing her softly on the forehead, left the room and descended the stairs to see Taiyang and Qrow deep in discussion.

“Think they finished what they started and took the rest of Amber’s powers, I need to get down to the vault to check.” Qrow muttered, not noticing as Weiss quietly stepped down.

“Why destroy Beacon and the Festival though?” Tai asked, face lined with concern.

“General chaos advances Her ends I suppose, dividing us and the Kingdoms makes us all weaker.” Weiss didn’t know who they were talking about, but the way Qrow said ‘Her’ lent it a gravitas that sent a shiver down Weiss’ spine. So there was someone behind the plot and both Qrow and Taiyang knew who it was. Weiss certainly had a lot of questions for Qrow.

Coughing quietly to alert the adults before they continued their hushed discussion, Weiss stepped into the living room.

“Oh Weiss, didn’t see you there.” Tai spoke cheerfully, though Qrow fixed her with a suspicious eye, clearly wondered whether she’d heard.

“Ruby’s in bed now.” She informed the pair, painfully aware of how dishevelled she looked, missing a sleeve and stained with soot and dirt.

“Great, thanks Weiss. I’m going to get some tea going, either of you want any?” The mention of tea immediately reminded Weiss of her absent teammate and her heart clenched.

“Could you make mine coffee actually please? Qrow and I have some things we need to talk about and I want to be awake for it.” Weiss fixed the lanky man with a hard stare that she hoped would convey to him exactly how bad it would be for him if he tried to refuse.

“Coffee for me as well Tai.” He called out to their host who rolled his eyes at his Qrow’s lack of manners. “Shall we?” He gestured to one of the chairs facing the sofa he proceeded to sprawl over. Sitting primly in the offered chair, Weiss turned her attention to the former teacher who, much to her disgust, pulled out his hip flask and took a swig.

“So what do you want to know?” He asked, waving the flask lazily at the ex-heiress.

“Who did this? Who was the woman on the broadcast?” She asked promptly, no point building up to it, she had suspicions but they needed to be confirmed.

“Not starting easy are ya?” Qrow chuckled darkly, hunching over in a more serious position. “Truth is I don’t really know, I’ve had run ins with them before but their identities elude me.” Weiss narrowed her eyes at him.

“Really, so you don’t suspect Mercury Black of being involved somehow?” Qrow blinked a couple of times.

“What?”

“Oh come on, the woman in the broadcast specifically mentioned Yang’s incident with him, it had to be part of the plan. It was a set up.” Weiss explained her reasoning to the older man who nodded in agreement.

“So you’re smarter than you look.” Weiss snorted at the backhanded compliment. “Yeah, me and some others thought of that, we’ve got someone looking into that.” Weiss allowed herself a faint smirk, she’d been right and now she had something of a target for later.

“We? Who are these others?” Weiss jumped on the loose thread.

“That I’m afraid, is something I can’t tell you.” Qrow smirked at Weiss’ scowl. “It’s not up to me, it’s up to Oz, but he’s gone missing.” The white-haired girl scowled even more at this as Taiyang re-entered the room, carrying two steaming mugs. He handed them out to murmured thanks and Weiss spent a moment just inhaling the scent, she’d always found something comforting about the smell of coffee.

“You need me here for this Qrow?” Tai asked, looking between the seated pair.

“Nah, I think we’re alright Tai.” Qrow waved the blonde man off and he reluctantly left the room. “Anything else mini ice queen?”

“Just one more for now. How did Ruby destroy the Grimm and freeze the Wyvern?” Qrow sighed at this and took a large gulp of coffee.

“You ever notice Ruby’s eyes?” He asked and Weiss scoffed. Of course she had, she’d spent the better part of the last couple of months getting lost in their gorgeous silver hue. “You ever seen anyone else with eyes like that?”

“Not that I can think of.”

“That’s because it’s an extremely rare trait, it makes her special like her mom was. There’s a lot of stories and legends floating about and there’s one that Oz told me about a while back. A long time ago, before hunters, before the Kingdoms themselves, it’s said that those born with silver eyes were born to lead the life of a warrior and that the Grimm themselves were afraid of these warriors.” Weiss cocked an eyebrow at this, Grimm afraid? Such an idea sounded alien.

“It was even said that all it took was a single look from someone with silver eyes to strike down even the strongest Grimm.”

“And you believe this story?” Scepticism laced her voice, though it was hard to maintain with the evidence of last night.

“You tell me, there’s a giant Grimm frozen atop Beacon tower and Ruby’s just upstairs, safe in bed.” Qrow stretched out and stood up, draining the last of his coffee. “I need to get back to Vale, they need me there.” Weiss stood as well, following the lanky man to the door.

“Are you just leaving for good now?” Weiss asked as they stepped out onto the porch.

“Nah, I’ll be back and forth, I get the feeling Ruby’s gonna need some stuff explaining to her as well and I don’t think you’re all that qualified.” The ex-heiress huffed in irritation at his words. “You’re sticking around here for a while?”

“For a while.” She confirmed, long enough to make sure Ruby was okay and until Sun got a message to her.

“Good.” Qrow hesitated a moment before slumping and turning to Weiss. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Weiss asked, baffled by this sudden apology.

“For calling you a spoilt princess who lived in Jacques Schnee’s ivory tower. In my defence, I didn’t exactly know about these.” He gestured at Weiss’ wings. “Either way, I was wrong, you’re actually pretty good for Ruby.”

Before Weiss could fully process this, Qrow hopped off the porch and strode over to his car.

"See ya around mini ice ice queen." And with that, he climbed in the car and took off, Weiss watching as he sped off along the road.

"Qrow's gone then?" Taiyang spoke from behind her.

"Yep, he'll be back soon though." Tai groaned at this.

"Great, I love the guy but he can be a real pain sometimes." He chuckled a little and Weiss couldn't help but join in.

"He can be rather abrasive."

"Now that's an understatement. Anyway do you mind coming and giving me a hand with lunch? I'm making some chicken macaroni, hopefully Yang will be awake to eat it" The white-haired girl hesitated a moment.

"I've never cooked before." She finally admitted, flushing with embarrassment.

"That's fine, I can teach you." He grinned widely in a way that reminded her so much of Yang and walked back into the house.

Weiss stayed outside for a minute,braking in the tranquility of the forest. This would be good, Ruby would recover then Weiss could go find Blake and bring her family back together.

And after that, she could go and track down everyone responsible for the tragedies of the last few days and she would not rest until she had personally struck their heads from their necks.

Comforted by this happy thought, Weiss followed after Tai to learn how to make chicken macaroni.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, a happy ending for once, ignore Weiss' homicidal tendencies for now, I'm sure it's fine. And now begins the Patch arc, a relatively short one but still very important. One thing I need to consider, should I split this work soon, it's getting pretty long and it might be nice to separate it. Let me know what you think.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	60. Chapter 60

“Blake? Blake?” Taiyang and Weiss looked up from their food at the faint, panicked calls.

“Shall I…?” Tai started but Weiss shook her head, rising from the table and making up a fresh bowl of soup.

“She should hear it from me.” And so, placing the bowl on a tray, she made her way out of the kitchen and up the stairs into Yang’s temporary room. The blonde’s head immediately snapped around, eyes wide with hope that dimmed a little when she saw who it was.

“Weiss? Where’s Blake?” Sighing softly, Weiss set the tray down on the bedside table and moved seat herself at the foot of the bed.

“I don’t know, I’m sorry. Sun saw her run off after you were both evacuated to Vale.”

“B-But why?” Yet again Weiss had become the bearer of bad news and she flinched away at Yang’s raw voice so she wouldn’t see the tears that were certainly sparkling in her eyes.

“I-I’m so sorry Yang, but I just don’t know. She was gone by the time I arrived at Vale with Ruby.” She chanced a glance at Yang and felt her heart break just a little more at the dullness in her eyes.

“Maybe she couldn’t stand to look at me because of this.” Yang looked down at her bandaged arm. “Because I’m even more broken than before.”

“She wouldn’t do something like that.” Weiss tried to insist but Yang cut her off.

“How would you know!? She said she loved me, said she’d never leave me. So where is she Weiss?!” Tears now streamed freely down Yang’s face, eyes blazing with pain. Then she slumped, as though all the fight left her all at once. “Blake’s gone and I’ll never fight again.”

“Yang, losing an arm doesn’t mean the end, there are prosthetics and-.” Yang snorted loudly, cutting Weiss off again.

“Yeah, of course losing a limb’s no big deal to you. You cut those things off all the time but you got a free do-over.” Weiss recoiled at the venom in Yang’s voice, wings pulling tight to her back. “I mean look at you, of course you’re fine, nothing can touch the great Weiss Schnee, uninjured and unharmed as always.”

“Ya-.”

“I think you should go.” Her voice was so cold, she’d never heard Yang like this and it broke her heart.

“Bu-.”

“I told you to go!” Yang screamed and Weiss dodged out the way as the bowl of macaroni was thrown at her. So she beat a hasty retreat, trying to ignore her instinct to comfort Yang as she heard her break into loud sobs behind her.

Tai was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, gazing up in concern at the ex-heiress.

“Do you want me to…?” He gestured up but Weiss shook her head again, descending the stairs.

“I think she wants to be left alone for now. Maybe take her a fresh bowl later, I don’t think she wants to see me at all right now.” As she reached the bottom of the stairs she squeaked in surprise as Taiyang pulled her into a tight hug.

“It’s gonna be okay, you’ll see.” He hugged just like Yang did and Weiss couldn’t help but believe his words until he suddenly let go. “Ack, sorry. I forgot to ask if hugging you was okay.” He apologised quickly, looking so stricken she couldn’t help but chuckle.

“It’s alright Taiyang, I actually kind of needed that.” The older man broke into a wide grin that once again painfully reminded Weiss of Yang.

“That’s great. You want to learn how to bake cookies?”

“I’d love to.”

* * *

 

“Hey, I don’t know if you can hear me but your father said that you should speak to people who are in a coma, although he didn’t know why. I made cookies today! And most of them weren’t too badly burned. Your father’s been insisting that he teach me how to cook, it’s fun actually. I promise I’ll have mastered cookies for when you wake up.”

* * *

 

“You are possibly the worst shot I’ve ever seen and I’ve met my sister.” Qrow drawled out from the porch where he leaned over the railing, beer clutched in hand, watching Weiss practice with Penny’s weapon.

“My tutors never saw fit to instruct me in the usage of such weapons, they called them barbaric.” Weiss sniffed, taking aim again and missing the bottle by a good few metres.

“Dear gods you’re dreadful.” Qrow commented drily.

“I’m working with what I’ve got okay? And if there’s anything dreadful here it’s this damn sword.” Weiss fumed in frustration, both with Qrow and her own inability to hit a target from less than twenty paces.

“Heh, Dreadful, good name for it.” Qrow mused, draining the last of the beer before stepping off the porch and over to Weiss. “Okay mini ice queen, guess I’m gonna have to teach you how to shoot.” Striding over he kicked at Weiss’ legs until they were a shoulder width apart.

“We’re starting with the basics, so number one always treat the gun as though it’s loaded.” He twists Weiss’ body to the side so her right is facing the bottles. “Next, never point the gun at anything unless you intend to shoot it.” He raises Weiss’ arms, showing her how to clasp the gun with both hands. “And keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to fire.” Weiss obeyed without thinking, resting her finger outside the guard.

“What now?”

“Now line up the gun with the target, this ain’t the best one to teach on as it’s not got any sights, but it’ll do. Once you’ve lined up your target, make sure you know what’s behind it and then firmly pull the trigger.” Carefully, Weiss sighted one of the bottles and, breathing slowly, squeezed the trigger. A bolt of green lanced out from the gun and completely shattered the bottle.

“There ya go, not bad mini ice queen.”

“Please don’t tell me I have to go through all of that any time I want to shoot something.” Weiss groaned, lowering the gun and removing her finger from the trigger.

“Not really, you’d be hard pressed to find any hunter who obeys any gun safety laws. But right now you’re just a beginner, so yeah you’ll be doing it just like that until I think you’re ready for some of the fancier stuff like this.” He held out his hand for the gun which Weiss handed over somewhat reluctantly. Weighing it up in his hand for a moment, he then spun it around his finger and before Weiss could blink several lasers arcs out destroying the rest of the bottles.

“Here endeth today’s lesson.” He smirked, clicking the gun back to safe mode and passing it back to Weiss before striding off back towards the house whistling a jaunty tune.

* * *

 

“Your uncle’s an interesting teacher. He’s been helping me learn how to shoot, I’ve actually gotten pretty good at it, he’s even let me try one handed now. He even named my new weapon, it’s called the Penny Dreadful, silly name I know but it’s grown on me. It feels strange sometimes to use her weapon, I never really liked Penny, turns out for completely stupid reasons. But she was your friend and if I carry this piece of her with me, she’ll always be with us.”

* * *

 

It was the beginning of Autumn when Yang finally spoke to Weiss again, but it didn’t really feel like she was talking to her friend. It was as though all her love for life had been drained out of her and there was barely anything of the cheerful blonde left. She’d been to the small hospital on Patch where they’d attached a cap to what remained of her arm, complete with connections to her nervous system for compatibility with prosthetics. Though Yang seemed barely affected by it, spending her days sat in bed, staring out the window in despair.

“How’s Ruby?” Weiss paused as she was leaving the room, having brought up some lunch.

“Still unconscious.” She murmured, not meeting Yang’s eye. “But she’s tough, she’ll wake up eventually.”

“Rose women always have been.” Yang replied quietly and Weiss knew her gaze had drifted back to her arm. “Did I ever tell you why Ruby and I have different surnames?” Weiss shook her head.

“I wasn’t always a Xiao Long, I used to be Yang Branwen. I never really questioned why dad didn’t take Summer’s name or why I wasn’t a Rose or even a Xiao Long. It was only after Summer went missing that I found out about Raven.” Weiss turned around, Qrow had mentioned Raven a few times.

“Raven and dad were together for a while, but when Raven had me, she ditched him and left me in his care.” Weiss’ heart sank, she had a feeling she knew where this was going. “She just left us and I don’t know why. And I don’t care any more. I just didn’t want to have any more reminders of her so I took dad’s name.” Yang looked away, out the window again, leaving Weiss to fill in the blanks. Regretfully, she left the room, unable to think of anything that would comfort the grieving girl.

* * *

 

“Yang’s not doing any better. She’s talked to me again, but it wasn’t good. She’s missing Blake so much and I don’t know if they’ll be able to make up when I do find her and bring her back. She told me about Raven, or at least that she exists. When I asked Qrow about her he got rather quiet and even worse when I asked what he meant about Summer and Raven back at the dorm. I hate being kept out of the loop. He’s refused to tell me who his allies are as well. I know there’s something going on and it has something to do with Ozpin, but he’s not been seen for weeks. And he won’t even tell me why someone would want to destroy Beacon, what could they possibly have to gain?”

* * *

 

“Your form’s sloppy.” Qrow chastised, parrying Weiss’ wild slashes.

“Well excuse me for not being used to this kind of blade.” Weiss sniped back, hopping back and firing off a few shots.

“A hunter can’t always rely on their personal weapon, circumstances can force you into using others as well as fighting hand to hand.” The lanky man swung hard with his sword only for it to be blocked by one of Weiss’ wings and thrown aside.

“I know, why do you think I’ve been training?” She snarled through gritted teeth, unleashing another flurry of blows that Qrow blocked.

“And you’re improving.” He admitted, parrying another strike and moving on the offence.

“It’s not exactly easy either, I’ve lost an entire arsenal of techniques in losing Myrtenaster.” Weiss’ eye flickered over to the satchel that hung from the side of the porch.

“You were too reliant on Dust, especially when you got that fancy Dust jacket.” Weiss blocked a powerful swing, but failed to catch the foot that came up and kicked her hard in the stomach, knocking her down. “I’m sure your sister told you that as well.”

“I don’t think cutting myself off from using it entirely is the solution either.” Weiss gasped out, taking Qrow’s offered hand and getting pulled to her feet. “It’d be like fighting with one hand tied behind my back.”

“You have a point.” Qrow conceded, brushing himself off and stowing his sword. Briefly Weiss noticed an oddly familiar metal cylinder beneath his cloak before the cloth swung back into place. “Question is, what are you going to do about it?”

* * *

 

“I’ve actually learned a lot from your uncle, he’s surprisingly good as a teacher, if only he could curb his disgusting drinking habit. He actually gave me an idea, because Myrtenaster and my jacket have been destroyed I haven’t been able to use Dust properly. So I’ve been designing a new weapon, I’ve never actually done something like this before. I didn’t even forge Myrtenaster, but you said once that your father helped Yang forge her gauntlets and his own so I hope he can help with that."

* * *

 

Taiyang was busying himself in the kitchen that evening, he lived close enough to Signal that he could commute and was busy preparing for the new semester to start in a few weeks. Weiss’ birthday had passed without much incident, she now better understood why Blake and Yang hadn’t told them when it had been their birthdays. It felt almost wrong to celebrate right now, the death toll from the Fall was still rising as more and more bodies were recovered as Vale was slowly reclaimed.

“Hey Weiss, you need something?” He asked, looking up from the stew he was making.

“Yes, if it’s not too much trouble.” Weiss placed a piece of paper which she’d painstakingly sketched out her design, having pored over several of Ruby’s books on weapons. Taiyang turned away from the pot and studied the drawings intently.

“You’ve put a good amount of thought into this.” He muttered, sounding impressed.

“I’ve never actually forged a weapon before. I was hoping I could use the ones at Signal and that you could help me?” Weiss suggested, smiling hopefully at the man muttering to himself as he continued to look over the designs.

“One small problem, how are you going to activate the Dust? These chambers are sealed except for the exit point for the active chamber.” He asked, looking up curiously at Weiss.

“Because I want to forge it out of this.” And she reverently placed the remains of Myrtenaster on the table. “I did the calculations, there should be enough metal here. It’s unique, aura conductive metal researched by the SDC.” Taiyang picked up the broken weapon and turned it over in his hands, saw the faint pulse of his aura and the bright grin as he no doubt felt his aura flow smoothly through the sword unlike the resistance you would get from other metals.

“I think we can make this work.” Relieved, Weiss broke into a matching grin.

* * *

 

“I did it, I forged my very own weapon! Well your father helped a lot, but it was my design and she’s perfect. I kind of copied Ember Celica a little, but she’s still got the rotating Dust chambers like Myrtenaster. More compact as well. I wish you could see her, you’d probably geek out like you do for all weapons. She’s not all that pretty or fancy though, She’s rather plain in fact. But she does the job! Well, she will once I’ve gotten used to her. I almost set fire to the forest when I was testing her earlier, your uncle’s never going to let me forget that. I’ve named her as well, Lilie der Rache. I didn’t tell your father what it means, if he knew I doubt he’d approve of what I intend to do with her. You wouldn’t approve either, but it’s something I need to do.”

* * *

 

Weiss sat out on the porch, gazing up at the night sky, Zwei winding himself around her feet. She hadn’t really had a chance to do this since that night on the roof with Ruby so long ago. She was pleased to note the night sky over Patch was even clearer than the one over Beacon as she looked up and tried to identify half-remembered constellations.

“Enjoying yourself out here?” Tai’s voice pulled her from her reverie and she looked over to the man leaning on the railing.

“I’ll never quite get over how peaceful it is out here.” She murmured, looking out into the darkened forest.

“It is isn’t it? It’s a good place to relax and recuperate.” He looked over at Weiss. “So the new school year’s starting soon, you thought of where you’re going? I hear a lot of Beacon students are transferring to Shade.” Weiss didn’t answer immediately, instead crouching to pick up Zwei and holding him close to her chest.

“I’m not transferring.” Tai blinked in confusion for a moment.

“Why not?”

“Ruby still hasn’t woken up yet.” If Weiss were to enrol at another academy she’d almost certainly be forced into a new team and a new partner. The idea of someone other than Ruby being her partner made Weiss feel sick.

“Weiss, you can’t just throw away your future just because Ruby hasn’t woken up yet.” Tai sounded pained as he said the words.

“Ruby _is_ my future.” Weiss stated firmly. “The only way I’d throwing away my future is if I leave Ruby now.” Taiyang just sighed deeply.

“When you say things like that you remind me of Summer a little. Summer and Raven were the perfect couple, hopelessly devoted to one another. Everyone thought they would be together forever and no one more than her. It nearly destroyed her when Raven called things off.” Tai looked away guiltily. “You can’t just base your entire life around someone else Weiss, it’s not healthy, for either of you.” Weiss opened her mouth to argue, but couldn’t quite find the words.

“Just think about it, please.” And with that, he walked back into the house leaving Weiss alone with Zwei in a dark that felt less comforting now.

* * *

 

“Ruby, it’s been weeks now. Why won’t you wake up? Liebling please, I need you, I can’t do this alone. I miss you so much. Your smile, your laugh. The way you make me feel like I can be so much better than I really am. Please, I don’t know what to do without you. You always have a plan. So please Ruby, come back to me. Don’t leave me alone.”

.

.

.

.

.

“...Weiss…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, I may have written this in a single day, but I'm on a roll here. Just one or two more chapters before this part finishes and vol. 4 starts. As such I will be taking a short break once I have finished this so I can fully get my thoughts in order for the next part and get back to a more regular writing schedule than the last few posts.
> 
> I wanted to experiment a little with the writing style for this chapter, trying to convey something of a montage of Weiss' time on Patch. I'd like to hear whether it works or not.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	61. Chapter 61

“R-Ruby?”

“Weiss? What happened?” The faint voice croaked out again and a pair of bleary eyes sought her out. It wasn’t hard as Weiss immediately threw herself on the recently awoken girl, wrapping her arms around her and burying her face in the crook of Ruby’s neck.

“You’re awake, you’re finally awake.” She sniffled, not bothering to hold back the tears of relief. “You came back.” A weak hand reached out and gently stroked her hair.

“You got a haircut” Weiss pulled back and ran her hand self-consciously through her now shoulder length hair.

“Yeah, your uncle kept on grabbing it when we were training so I had it cut.”

“Uncle Qrow’s been training you?”

“We sort of hit it off a little when we rescued you from Beacon.” Weiss chuckled nervously as Ruby’s face darkened.

“What happened to the school? And Vale? Were they able to clear out the Grimm?” She asked, slight panic seeping into her voice.

“Vale’s under control, sort of. But Beacon… The Wyvern’s not dead, it’s just frozen and it’s attracting more Grimm to the school.” Ruby looked down at her hands.

“And Yang?” Weiss looked away, towards the room Yang currently resided in.

“She’s… She’s not doing great. Blake ran away and Yang’s… she’s hurting so badly and she barely left her bed in weeks.” Ruby’s head shot up.

“Weeks?! Weiss, how long was I out for?”

“You’ve been in a coma for eight weeks and three days. Whatever you did to the Wyvern, it took a lot out of you. I was so scared you weren’t going to wake up at all.”

“What I did…? What do you mean?” Weiss shook her head sadly.

“I don’t really know, things are still kind of a mess and-.”

“Things are always a mess.” A gravelly voice interrupted from the door. “Mind if we have a minute.” Weiss got up to leave, but was held back by a soft grip.

“If you have anything to say to me, you can say it to Weiss as well.” Ruby stared sternly up at Qrow who just sighed and grabbed a chair from the desk and sat down, slouching as he looked at the brunette.

“Fine, just wanted to spare her a repeat conversation. How do you feel?”

“Sore and kinda weak.” She tried flexing an arm but there was a lot more effort than there should have been.

“Yeah, being in a coma will do that to ya, you’ll get your strength back in no time. As for the soreness, I’m not surprised after what you did to that Grimm.” He drawled and Ruby growled in frustration.

“You both keep saying that, what are you talking about!?” Weiss flinched a little at Ruby’s croaky shout.

“Easy kiddo, easy.” Qrow calmed the younger girl who slumped back into her pillows. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“I ran up the side of the tower and when I got to the top, I…” Ruby’s eyes widened and the words caught in her throat. “Pyrrha! Is she…?” Weiss looked away again, fresh tears welling up in her eyes.

“Sorry, kid. She’s gone.” Ruby choked a little, trying to say something, eventually taking a deep breath to try to continue.

“I… I got to the top and I saw Pyrrha… And Cinder.” Weiss’ eyes snapped over to Qrow, there was a flicker of recognition in the older man’s eyes. Finally, confirmation that Mercury and the others were involved. Tears were now streaming down Ruby’s face and Weiss, uncaring of the fact Qrow was watching, crawled up onto the bed to pull her girlfriend into a tight hug. “Mercury was there, at the coliseum when P-Penny… They lied to us, pretended we were friends. It was all a lie.” Weiss whimpered in sympathy, burying her face further into Ruby’s neck. Never had it hurt so much to be right.

“You remember anything else?” Qrow interrupted, Weiss pulling her face away to glare at Qrow for his lack of tact. But Ruby sniffed and swiped at her face, composing herself.

“Everything went white and my head hurt so much.” Qrow nodded, humming in thought.

“The night you first Ozpin, what was the first thing he said to you?” Ruby cocked her head in confusion and Weiss had to agree, what did Ozpin have to do with Ruby’s eyes?

“I can’t remember, there were cookies and then there was something about-.”

“Silver eyes.” Oh, that was it. Wait Ozpin had known about Ruby’s eyes from the beginning but never told her? An uncomfortable kernel rattled around the back of her mind. Why would Ozpin keep something like that hidden from Ruby? No, she was just being paranoid after learning about Cinder.

“You’re special, Ruby and not in the ‘Daddy loves his special angel’ way. Special like your mom was.” Ruby’s eyes widened as Qrow explained to her what he’d told Weiss eight weeks ago about the silver eyes.

“You think it’s true?” She asked when Qrow finished, awe sparkling in her eyes.

“You tell me. You’re here in bed, not too worse for wear and that giant Grimm’s stuck atop Beacon.” He drawled, grinning smugly as he stood to leave.

“Wait how did you know what Ozpin talked to Ruby about the night they first met?” Weiss narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the lanky man. She knew he’d been keeping things from her and she did not like it one bit.

“Ruby might have told you I go on a lot of missions.” Weiss nodded slowly, Ruby had mentioned it in passing once or twice. “Whenever I’m off in some far-off place. It’s been at Ozpin’s request. But he’s been missing for too long now, so I’ll have to pick up where he left off.” He gazed out the window, lost in thought.

 “So what can we do? If I’m so special, and Weiss must be too for you to train her, we can help right?” Qrow continued to laugh gently.

“You really wanna help kiddo? Get some rest, you’re in no condition to go anywhere right now and mini ice queen’s got a way to go before she’s good enough for something like this.” Weiss huffed a little but couldn’t exactly argue, she was still getting used to her new weapons and despite multiple attempts, hadn’t managed to summon again. “Besides, our enemy’s trail leads all the way to Haven, that’s quite a trip for a couple of pipsqueaks like you two.” Weiss and Ruby exchanged a quick glance. “Anyway, catch ya later kiddo, mini ice queen.” And with that he left the room and the two girls alone.

“So, Haven.” Weiss finally broke the silence and Ruby nodded.

“When I’m back at full fighting strength, Haven.” She agreed and Weiss felt a stab of guilt that she probably wouldn’t be going with Ruby, not yet at least. The letter she’d received a few days prior sat burning a hole in her pocket as she remembered the one word scrawled untidily across it: Menagerie.

* * *

 

“Hey, uh your dad said I could come up.” A familiar voice jolted Weiss and Ruby out of their conversation as they examined Lilie der Rache. It had been a few days since Ruby had woken up and though she was just about strong enough to walk, she tired out easily and still spent a large amount of time in bed. Looking up at the door, for the first time ever Weiss felt happy to see Jaune.

“Jaune! Ruby tried to scramble out of bed only for Weiss to catch her and push her back.

“Easy Liebling, easy. Don’t overexert yourself.” She soothed the now pouting younger girl. “Come in Jaune, please.” The blonde boy entered, pushing the door to and joining the red and white pair on the bed.

“It’s good to see you awake Ruby.” Jaune smiled warmly at the brunette.

“Yeah, it’s good to be awake. Eight weeks Jaune, I can’t believe it.” She bemoaned her plight, flopping back dramatically.

“How are Ren and Nora? Nora said a while back they didn’t have anywhere to go.” Weiss ventured tentatively, remembering how their last meeting had gone.

“They’re fine, well doing better.” Jaune scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “They’ve been staying with me on my family’s farm, helping out and stuff. Nora wanted me to tell you she’s sorry for how she reacted back in Vale.” Weiss just shook her head.

“Tell her there’s nothing to apologise for, really.” She assured him.

“So, why’d you come here Jaune? I guess you’re not just here to see little old me.” Ruby chirped up.

“Ren, Nora and I were talking and we’re not enrolling in any of the other academies.” Weiss blinked in shock for a few moments. “We agreed that we’re going to find the people behind the Fall, who took Pyrrha from us, and we’re going to stop them.” The white-haired girl continued to sit in shocked silence. She had to admit she’d never really thought of Jaune as much of a leader before, but right now in this tiny bedroom on Patch, he never looked more like one now than ever.

“We were wondering if you wanted to come along. Also we kind of don’t have much of a plan and we were hoping you could help.” And just like that he was back to plain old Jaune. Weiss and Ruby exchanged a meaningful look before the young leader spoke up.

“As it so happens, we do have a lead we were going to follow up.”

“Really? What is it?” Jaune’s eyes sparkled with hope.

“Haven, that’s where the trail leads.” Ruby informed him smartly.

“How do you know?”

“My uncle worked for Ozpin he may have let slip-.”

“He told us deliberately Ruby, don’t pretend we were clever about it or anything.” Ruby huffed good-naturedly at Weiss’ interruption.

“Fine, he told us that the enemy’s trail leads to Haven.”

“And the woman on the broadcast, we think that was Cinder, said she came from Haven. That one’s a bit of a reach but it’s something else to go on.” Weiss shrugged as Jaune’s eyes narrowed.

“Cinder, you mean that transfer student from Haven who was on the same team as Mercury?”

“Yeah, He was in on it as well, the whole team probably was.”

“We chatted with them, Pyrrha and Emerald got on really well.” Jaune’s tone hardened, anger flickering in his eyes. “It must have been Cinder, down in the vault. She’s the one who killed Pyrrha isn’t she?” Ruby just nodded sadly, but Weiss was too busy thinking of what Jaune had said just before. Hadn’t Qrow mentioned a vault weeks ago to Taiyang?

“Vault? What vault?”

“There was a vault underneath Beacon tower, Ozpin to me and Pyrrha down there during the fight. He had some kind of machine and there was a woman in there. There were going to do something to Pyrrha but Cinder came and killed the woman before it worked.” Jaune dropped his head in guilt. “It was my fault, I was supposed to be guarding them but I got distracted.”

“Hey, Jaune. None of what happened is our fault, it’s Cinder and the others who are to blame.” Ruby reassured the blonde boy gently whilst Weiss turned this new information over in her head. A vault hidden under the school, what had Ozpin been up to? There were too many secrets on their allies’ part and she did not like it one bit.

“You’re right, you’re right.” Jaune sighed, sorrow still lingering in his voice. “So, Haven?”

“Yes Haven, I’ll be fighting fit soon and the five of us can all go together.” Weiss felt a stab of guilt as she thought yet again of the bag she had packed and stashed under the bed next to Ruby’s. Nor did it lessen as Jaune and Ruby planned their journey to Haven whilst she sat silently aside, stomach churning.

* * *

 

“Weiss, what are you doing?” Weiss paused in the middle of finishing packing some last-minute Dust purchases in her satchel.

“I’m getting ready to leave.” She eventually said, continuing the packing. She regretted putting telling Ruby what she planned to do, but the time never really came.

“But we’re not going to Haven for another few weeks.” Ruby said, blinking in confusion and Weiss deflated in shame.

“I’m not going to Haven.”

“W-What?”

“Not yet at least.” she amended somewhat hastily, finishing her packing and closing the satchel. “I’m going to Menagerie.”

“But why? Why are you leaving me?” Weiss could hear the tears in her girlfriend’s eyes but she didn’t turn to face her, knowing if she did, she’d cave immediately. She had to do this.

“I’m not leaving you, I’m going to find Blake.” She stood stock still, eyes fixed on her trembling hands. “Yang’s not getting any better and Blake’s all alone out there. I need to get my family back together.”

“So you’re going to do that by going off on your own?” There was anger now in Ruby’s voice and Weiss heard her stride over behind her and didn’t resist as she was spun around to look into her glistening silver eyes. “And leaving me on my own.”

“I’m not, you’ve got Jaune and Ren and Nora. We can’t let the trail to Haven go cold, so you and the others go there.” Weiss couldn’t stop the tears as they spilled out and down her cheeks. “But please Ruby, let me be selfish and bring my family back together.”

“What if I never see you again? What if something happens?” The ex-heiress shook her head violently.

“Never, I will always come back to you Ruby.” She reached into her pocket and withdrew the small box that had sat there for far too long. “I’ve been waiting to give you this for a long time now, I was waiting for the perfect moment. But if the Fall has taught me anything, it’s that there may never be a perfect moment and we should take every moment we have.” She clicked open the box and withdrew one of the rings, watching as Ruby’s eyes widened at the shimmering gold.

“Consider this a promise: no matter how far I wander, I will always come back to you.” Weiss gently took Ruby’s unresisting hand and slid the ring onto her finger. “This represents our bond. It may not be official to anyone other than us, but it’s ours and no one can take it from us.” Then she placed the other ring into Ruby’s trembling hand and dropped the box onto the dresser as Ruby reached out and took Weiss’ own hand, carefully sliding the ring onto her finger.

“Now and forever.” The brunette intoned wetly, fighting back more tears and resting her forehead against her partner’s.

“Now and forever.” Weiss replied, pressing back gently and intertwining their fingers. After what felt like an eternity they finally broke apart.

“If… If you have to do this, then I have something for you.” Ruby stepped around her partner and pulled open a drawer, rummaging through until she withdrew what looked like a white cloth. Then she unfolded it and it was revealed to be a snow-white cloak with a blood red lining.

“You’re going to Menagerie right? This’ll help keep the sun off you but not be too hot.” She swung the cloak around Weiss’ shoulders and piled the material around her neck, leaving the hood down. “Besides, it matches the rest of your clothes and you can let your wings out.” She gave a watery smile that Weiss returned as she pulled the brunette into a tight hug.

“Thank you Ruby.” She murmured into the younger girl’s ear before pulling back and collecting her satchel and weapons.

“You’ll meet me in Haven right?” Ruby asked softly as Weiss rolled up her right sleeve and slipped Lilie der Rache on, feeling it clamp securely around her arm.

“Once I find Blake and bring her back here to fix things with Yang, we’ll all come find you in Haven.” Weiss reassured her, snapping Penny Dreadful to her belt and turning back to face Ruby.

“I guess this is goodbye.” Ruby shuffled uncomfortably on the spot.

“I always preferred ‘auf wiedersehen’, because it’s not goodbye. I’ll see you again, soon.” Weiss pulled her partner in for a soft yet insistent kiss.

When they finally broke apart, Weiss smiled sadly up at the love of her life.

“Auf wiedersehen liebling.”

“Auf wiedersehen princess.”

They lingered a moment longer in each other’s embrace before Weiss stepped back and with one last longing look at Ruby, walked out of the room, down the stairs and out into the crisp Autumn air.

She wanted to look back, but if she did, she’d never be able to leave. Breathing in the chill air and steeling herself, Weiss strode away from the house that had been more of a home in the last few weeks than Schnee manor ever could and off into the unknown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we are, the end of the fic. Thank you everyone who's stuck with me this far, it's been a ride. I've posted on tumblr some art for Weiss' outfit going forward as well as a rough design for Lilie der Rache right [ here ](https://apatheticabstractapotheosis.tumblr.com/post/188088705168/weiss-post-vol3-outfit-and-lilie-der-rache-for). Hopefully that works. Also feel free to drop by to ask about anything, I'll answer whatever so long as it's not spoilery for later. 
> 
> Anyway, I'm taking a break for a little while so you can expect me back on the 14th October with the first chapter of Exiled on Remnant amid a Jeering Crowd. Until then, as always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on Tumblr now @apatheticabstractapotheosis so feel free to drop by and stuff.


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